Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:14 pm
Time: 8:14 pm
Results for defense attorneys, access
1 results foundAuthor: Legal Action Center Title: Behind Closed Doors: An Overview of DHS Restrictions on Access to Counsel Summary: While many people have heard of immigration courts, few understand that immigration judges make only a small percentage of the decisions about immigration status. Most determinations are made by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicators, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, and other government officials empowered to decide an individual’s fate. These decisions might result in lengthy imprisonment and expulsion from the country and often are made without affording the affected individuals access to legal counsel at their own expense. The right to competent legal representation is a constitutional mandate in criminal law. It is also a well‐recognized right in immigration court, although—by contrast with criminal proceedings—the government does not appoint lawyers for indigent noncitizens. Individuals in many types of administrative proceedings before the immigration agencies similarly have a right to legal representation. However, in this obscure world of decision‐making outside the courtroom, the right is often unrecognized or denied. Even when officials provide some access to counsel, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), particularly ICE and CBP, have discouraged or prevented counsel from meaningfully participating in their clients’ cases. The American Immigration Council (Immigration Council), the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the Center for Immigrants’ Rights at Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law began a project over two years ago to uncover the scope of these limitations on access to counsel. Using a variety of tools—including surveys and in‐depth interviews, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and extensive policy and legal analysis—we discovered that limitations on access to counsel were prevalent throughout DHS. Prior to issuing this report, the Immigration Council sought to bring these problems to the attention of the individual agencies. Only USCIS was responsive. In fact, USCIS has made significant revisions to its policies regarding access to counsel in response, at least in part, to the concerns we identified. With respect to ICE and CBP, however, the urgent need for reform remains. Details: Washington, DC: Legal Action Center, American Immigration Council, 2012. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 7, 2012 at http://www.legalactioncenter.org/sites/default/files/docs/lac/Behind_Closed_Doors_5-31-12.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.legalactioncenter.org/sites/default/files/docs/lac/Behind_Closed_Doors_5-31-12.pdf Shelf Number: 125344 Keywords: Criminal Justice ReformCustoms EnforcementDefense Attorneys, AccessImmigrants |