PHOTO: The Daily Beast
From: Jennifer Quigley <QuigleyJ@humanrightsfirst.org>
Subject: Fw: [EXT]-Good news on funding for legal representation!
Date: July 16, 2021 at 9:40:20 AM EDT
To: Asylum Working Group <asylum-working-group@googlegroups.com>
ICYMI
From: Greg Chen <GChen@aila.org>
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2021 9:30 AM
To: amigos@theimmigrationhub.org <amigos@theimmigrationhub.org>
Subject: [EXT]-Good news on funding for legal representation!
Email originates externally.
Greetings colleagues,
Yesterday House Appropriations Committee passed the CJS appropriations bill for FY 2022 for the Justice Department and other agencies. Importantly, the bill includes a historic $50 million for DOJ to pilot legal representation programs for people in removal proceedings. This is a big step for federal funding for legal counsel. Hooray!
Kudos to all the organizations in the working group on legal representation and access to counsel who have been fighting for this.Of course, we don’t have the money yet and will need to protect this language in the House and get comparable language, hopefully even more funding in the Senate. We have collectively been pushing for $200M.
The bill and draft report language are below.Collected resources on legal representation are available here: Ensuring Legal Representation for People Facing Removal. i
Committee-passed bill text on legal representation:
“(29) $50,000,000 for a grant pilot program to provide legal representation to immigrant children and families seeking asylum and other forms of legal protection in the United States;
Committee-passed report language on legal representation:
“Legal Representation Pilot for Immigrant Children and Families.—The Committee provides $50,000,000 for the Department to establish a competitive grant program to qualified non-profit organizations for a pilot program to increase representation for immigrant children and families in civil proceedings. The amount is $35,000,000 above the request and $50,000,000 above the fiscal year 2021 level. The Committee recognizes the compelling need to ensure due process for children and families who seek asylum and who must navigate a complex legal system for processing of asylum claims. The Committee supports coordination with grantees and organizations who offer other types of legal assistance or services to immigrants seeking asylum or other forms of legal protection. As with any new pilot program, the Committee expects the Department to assess this program with metrics that will be scaled appropriately to evaluate how this initial investment could be further enhanced to represent a larger portion of un-represented individuals and the impact that it may have on improving attendance rates and decreasing court costs. Within 90 days of enactment of this Act, the OJP shall brief the Committee on its implementation plan for this pilot.
Gregory Z. Chen, Esq.
Senior Director of Government Relations
Direct: 202-507-7615 I Cell: 202.716-5818 I Email: gchen@aila.org
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Main: 202.507.7600 I Fax: 202.783.7853 I www.aila.org
1331 G Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005
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Congrats to all involved! Let’s keep up the momentum until we get universal representation!
🇺🇸Due Process Forever!
PWS
07-16-21