Everyone facing deportation and its devastating consequences needs access to high-quality, independent legal representation, regardless of whether they can afford it.
That’s why the Vera Institute of Justice and the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) launched Fairness to Freedom: The Campaign for Universal Representation and why we are calling on Congress to pass the Fairness to Freedom Act.
By passing the Fairness to Freedom Act to establish a universal right to federally funded representation for anyone facing deportation, we will help ensure that nobody is forced to defend themself in immigration court alone, and that nobody is deported simply because they can’t afford a lawyer.
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Universal Representation is
NeededThe majority of people facing deportation are unrepresented. Since 2001, over 4 million people—almost 60 percent of everyone in immigration court—have had no lawyer to represent them
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Universal Representation is
EffectiveRepresentation helps people get out of detention and access relief from removal for which they are legally eligible, reuniting families and strengthening communities.
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Universal Representation is
SupportedTwo-thirds of the country supports government-funded representation for immigrants facing deportation.
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Universal Representation is
AchievableMore than 55 jurisdictions have already established legal representation programs for people facing deportation.
Why Fairness to Freedom?
Nobody should have to face the prospect of deportation alone simply because they can’t afford a lawyer. But unlike in the criminal legal system, people facing deportation from the United States do not have a right to legal representation at government expense if they can’t afford to hire an attorney. As a result, most immigrants facing detention and deportation who can’t afford a lawyer—including adults, children, and families—are forced to defend themselves in a highly complex area of the law against well-resourced government lawyers. The consequences of deportation can be devastating, including physical exile from home, separation from family and community, return to conditions of persecution and torture, and even death.
By passing the Fairness to Freedom Act and establishing universal representation for all people facing deportation, we can make sure that everyone has a fighting chance to understand their legal options, exercise their rights, and stay with their families and communities.
How it works
The Fairness to Freedom Act will establish a right to representation in removal proceedings, at government expense, for people who can’t afford it. To ensure this right is meaningful, the act will:
- ensure early, continuous, full-scope representation;
- enable representatives to provide high quality, holistic representation;
- require the government to facilitate access to counsel for people in its custody;
- establish an independent Office of Immigration Representation to ensure high-quality, universal representation;
- work with existing state and locally funded removal defense programs to provide universal representation; and
- ensure representation for people facing removal at the border.
URGENT FELLOWSHIP
NPNA is invested in advancing collaboration and capacity building by providing leadership development, peer mentorship and other resources to deepen NPNA members’ engagement in universal representation campaigns as well as identifying local and state jurisdictions to promote government funded legal representation programs and defending the existing programs where legal representation may be at risk.
To bolster this ongoing work, NPNA launched in May 2023 the Universal Representation Galvanizing, Empowering, Networking and Training (URGENT) Fellowship, a nine month cohort-based program that provides organizers or staff supporting immigration organizing work the necessary skills to advance efforts to increase publicly-funded legal representation for those facing deportation while building power in their communities through in-depth leadership skills training.
The URGENT Fellowship is designed to be a learning opportunity offering support and training to organizers who are currently involved or would like to be active in organizing efforts to advance the right to legal representation on the federal, state, and local level. For more information click here.
Resources
News and Stories
Join Vera, NPNA, and over 200 endorsers across the country to demand fairness and due process for people facing deportation.
If you belong to a nonprofit or private firm or are an electedofficial and want to endorse the campaign, join here.
Acacia Center for Justice
Advocates for Immigrant Rights
African Communities Together
Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Aldea – The People’s Justice Center
Alianza Americas and Presente.org
Alianza NORCO
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Friends Service Committee NJ
American Gateways
American Immigration Council (AIC)
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
Americans for Immigrant Justice
Apna Ghar, Inc.
Arizona Justice for Our Neighbors
Arkansas United
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago
Asian Law Alliance
Austin Region Justice for Our Neighbors
Ayuda
Bergen County Immigration Strategy Group
Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)
Bridges Faith Initiative
Brooklyn Defender Services
California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice
Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition
CASA
Casa San Jose
Casa Yurumein
Catholic Migration Services
Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
Center for Immigration Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law
Center for Popular Democracy (CPD)
Center for Victims of Torture
Central American Resource Center of California (CARECEN)
Central Washington Justice For Our Neighbors
Centro Romero
Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy
City of Albuquerque
City of Atlanta Office of the Public Defender
City of Dallas
City of Santa Ana
Cleveland Jobs with Justice
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Colectiva Legal del Pueblo
Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC)
Community Immigration Law Center
Community Legal Aid Society, Inc.
Comunidades Unidas
Conversations with Friends
Doctors for Camp Closure
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Elena’s Light
Entre Hermanos
Envision Freedom Fund
Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project
Esperanza Immigration Legal Services
Familias Unidas en Acción
Families for Freedom
Farmworker & Immigration Rights Clinic (Florida State
University College of Law)
First Focus Campaign for Children
First Friends of NJ & NY
Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Freedom Network USA
Global Cleveland
Haitian Bridge Alliance
HANA Center
Harris County Community Services Department – Legal Services
Hawaii Friends of Civil Rights
Hello Neighbor Network
Her Justice, Inc.
HIAS
HIAS Pennsylvania
Hispanic Federation
Hondurans Against AIDS, Inc.
Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative
Human Rights First
Illinois Workers in Action
Immigrant ARC
Immigrant Children Advocates’ Relief Effort (ICARE)
Immigrant Defenders Law Center
Immigrant Justice Corps
Immigrant Justice Idaho
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
Immigrant Legal Defense
Immigrant Rights Action
Immigration Advocates Network
Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy
India Home
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)
International Rescue Committee
Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice
Jewish Family Service of San Diego
JFON El Paso
Juntos
Just Neighbors
Just Neighbors Ministry
Just Peace Circles, Inc
Justice for all Immigrants
Justice for Our Neighbors Michigan
Justice in Motion
Keep Tucson Together
Kids In Need of Defense (KIND)
La Raza Centro Legal San Francisco
Law Office of Daniela Hernandez Chong Cuy
League of Conservation Voters
Liberian Association of Michigan
Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates
Lila LGBTQ Inc.
Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants
Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition
Massachusetts Immigrant Collaborative
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Michigan Immigrant Rights Center
Michigan United
Migrant Center for Human Rights
MN8
National Center for Youth Law
National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel
National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)
National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
National Justice for Our Neighbors
National Partnership for New Americans
Nationalities Service Center
Nebraska Appleseed
Neighbor to Neighbor
Neighbors Link
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New England Justice for Our Neighbors
New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC)
New York Justice for Our Neighbors
NewBridges Immigrant Resource Center
Next100
NorCal Resist
North Carolina Immigration Law & Justice Center
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Oasis Legal Services
OCA-Greater Houston
Occupy Bergen County (New Jersey)
Office of San Diego County Supervisor Lawson Remer
Office of San Francisco Public Defender
Ohio Immigrant Alliance
OneAmerica
Open Immigration Legal Services
Opening Doors, Inc.
Oxfam America
Pangea Legal Services
Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans
Pennsylvania Immigration & Citizenship Coalition
Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center
People’s College of Law
Pima County Justice for All Initiative Campaign
Pima County Public Defender
Progressive Leadership Alliance Of Nevada (PLAN)
Promise Arizona
Public Defenders Coalition for Immigrant Justice
RAICES
Rebuild, Overcome, and Rise (ROAR) Center at the Univ of MD, Baltimore
Redes en Accion Venezuela
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network
Sarah Plastino Consulting LLC
Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN)
Social Workers for Immigration Justice and Human Rights
Somos Un Pueblo Unido
Southeast Michigan Community Alliance (SEMCA)
Strangers No Longer (Michigan)
Strategic Initiative Group on Migration and Refugee Protection (Villanova University)
Tahirih Justice Center
Takoma Park Mobilization
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors
The Advocates for Human Rights
The Association of Afghans in Arizona
The Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama
The Immigration Hub
The Legal Aid Society
The Legal Clinic
The Resurrection Project
The Shapiro Law Firm, LLC
UnidosUS
Unified Asian Communities
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
Unite Oregon
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445
University of Wisconsin Law School
Variant Strategies
Vera Institute of Justice
Voces De La Frontera
Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Washington Defender Association
Welcoming America
Western Center for Defense Advocacy
Woori Juntos
Yesuah Jehovah Outreach Center
YMCA International
Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
YWCA of Kalamazoo Michigan