Help Wanted: Free Lawyers for Immigrant Children Crossing US-Mexico Border Amy Taxin - The Associated Press
go to original September 29, 2014

Governor Jerry Brown says he has signed into law a bill to help fund lawyers for unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings. The legislation signed Saturday appropriates $3 million to qualified nonprofit organizations to help represent unaccompanied minors in deportation proceedings. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)

Most of the nearly 60,000 Central American children who have arrived on the U.S.-Mexico border in the last year still don't have lawyers to represent them in immigration court, and advocates are scrambling to train volunteer attorneys to help cope with the massive caseload.

With the number of unaccompanied immigrant children more than doubling this past fiscal year, the need for attorneys has surged, and it has been exacerbated by the immigration courts' decision to fast-track children's cases, holding initial hearings within a few weeks instead of months.

Immigrants can have counsel in immigration courts, but lawyers are not guaranteed or provided at government expense. Having an attorney can make a big difference: While almost half of children with attorneys were allowed to remain in the country, only 10 percent of those without representation were allowed to stay, according to an analysis of cases through June by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

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