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The current system “is rigged”
Here’s the first problem: immigrants applying for asylum aren’t guaranteed an attorney, as defendants in criminal cases are. The lack of representation makes a huge difference in outcomes, according to government data analyzed by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse project.
“The odds of being allowed to remain in this country were increased more than fourteen-fold if women and children had representation,” TRAC’s report analyzing data up to June 2015 says. Here’s a chart from that report showing the difference in outcomes for defendants with and without attorneys.
In a subsequent report focusing on child applicants, TRAC found that 70 percent of the cases where a child had legal counsel resulted in the person ultimately being allowed to stay in the U.S. This figure was only 15 percent if the child had no attorney.
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