Quigley, Serrano Secure Funding for Immigration Help Desks

Press Release

Yesterday, U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (IL-05) and José Serrano (NY-15), members of the House Appropriations Committee, announced the inclusion of $1 million in the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act signed by President Obama for the creation of information help desks at the nation's most backlogged immigration courts. They also sent a letter to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) emphasizing specific characteristics that are essential to effective help desks -- protecting due process and improving efficiency of immigration proceedings.

"Having worked as a defense attorney for over a decade, I am well aware of the complexities and inefficiencies of America's legal system, especially throughout our immigration courts. The immigration help desk in Chicago has proven very effective and helpful at increasing efficiency and ensuring due process," said Rep. Quigley. "I'm hopeful that this first ever, dedicated federal funding for immigration help desks across the country will greatly and positively impact the lives of many immigrants and their families -- making the system easier to navigate and ensuring respondents are informed on possible remedies and legal resources."

"Many immigration courts around the nation are overwhelmed by a high volume of immigration cases and lack the resources to help immigrant families and process cases in a timely manner. Far too often, immigrants are left to face an unfamiliar immigration court system without legal counsel to guide them and advise them," said Rep. Serrano. " Allocating funding for the creation of immigration help desks will help America's busiest immigrant courts to become fairer and more efficient by providing immigrants with confidential screenings and refer them to legal resources if need be. As one of cities with the highest backlog of immigration cases, the New York City immigration court will benefit greatly from this initiative. This is the first time that funding has been allocated for this initiative in an Appropriations bill; I am incredibly proud of having worked with Representative Quigley to guarantee its successful inclusion in the final bill as members of the Appropriations Committee."

This is the first time that dedicated funding has been appropriated for immigration help desks. The EOIR faces many obstacles to providing timely immigration hearings while affording due process in an overwhelmed court system. Reps. Quigley and Serrano are hopeful that the creation of information help desks, which have already proven beneficial outside of the immigration court system, will assist in these efforts by providing time-sensitive information and legal screenings to pro se respondents on the day of their immigration court hearing.

The purpose of the desks are two-fold: first, to improve efficiency for the court by reducing the time immigration judges spend orienting a respondent on the court hearing process, and second, to ensure respondents are informed on possible remedies and legal resources.

"We have seen firsthand the value of providing information and screenings to individuals appearing in immigration court without an attorney. Help desks promote efficiency in our backlogged immigration courts and help ensure due process for immigrants facing removal proceedings -- they benefit us all," said Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director of the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC).

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