Serving the Needs of Both Immigration Courts and the People Appearing in Them
Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice has signed on to a letter to Congress (.pdf) supporting expansion of the Legal Orientation Program established by the Executive Office for Immigration at the Department of Justice in 2002. The LOP provides funding to state and local organizations that work with detainees, helping them understand their rights and responsibilities with regard to immigration court and removal proceedings. Over 65 institutions and individuals concerned with immigrant rights, human rights and access to legal representation also signed the letter, including National Appleseed and Texas Appleseed. The letter was drafted by Human Rights First and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
80% of immigration detainees do not have legal representation and there are more than 100 detainees for every one full-time non-government attorney providing legal services to detainees. As a consequence, immigration proceedings are highly inefficient—and therefore, costly—because the courts must take responsibility for informing unrepresented detainees of their basic rights, the general rules of the removal process, and complex immigration laws. Because the LOP offers the same instruction to detainees in advance of their hearings, the LOP significantly shortens immigration proceedings, improves the quality of the proceedings, and relieves immigration judges and Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys of additional burdens in hearings.
Chicago Appleseed is committed to improving the removal process and working for reforms that protect the legal rights and basic human rights or persons in immigration detention. Programs like the LOP improve the quality of our immigration courts and safeguard the help safeguard the people subject to their proceedings. Expansion of the Legal Orientation Program serves the public good.