Bill Hing: It’s Time to Create a Right to an Immigration Attorney

As many readers no doubt know, noncitizens facing removal from the United States are not guaranteed an attorney but only have the “privilege” of having representation at no expense to the government.  ImmigrationProf blogger Bill Hing on Slate (“It’s Time to Create a Right to an Immigration Attorney”) argues that

“Brandeis recognized long ago that deportation is akin to the loss of property or life, or `all that makes life worth living.’ Now we should borrow the principles of the Sixth Amendment and apply them to individuals facing deportation. Counsel should be provided at government expense. The vast majority in proceedings are either facing the prospects of separation from loved ones here or extreme violence in places like Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. For them, getting an attorney is a matter of life and death.”

KJ