Pro bono attorneys play an important role at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. In addition to increasing our service capacity, experienced pro bono professionals often also provide important mentorship to our staff members. NMILC has been successful in establishing innovative and successful pro bono partnership models that make collaboration easier and an overall better experience for all involved. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the immigration court system.

Access to legal counsel matters significantly in the immigration court system. Even so, many immigrants facing deportation are unable to afford an attorney and the immigration court system does not provide court-appointed counsel. According to a 2016 report by the American Immigration Council, only 37% of all immigrants and 14% of detained immigrants go to court with legal representation. This trend continues today with over 660,000 immigrants facing deportation without an attorney and only 29% of detained immigrants having legal representation.

“The system is so dysfunctional and confusing that knowing where and how to file relief applications can in itself be a barrier,” NMILC Supervising Attorney Jasmine McGee said. “I have seen people ordered removed because they weren’t able to get their application translated or filled out because they had no counsel.”

To help ease these numbers, the Biden administration is looking to make it easier for pro bono attorneys to take on immigration court cases. The Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) recently released a memo urging immigration courts to help facilitate pro bono representation. The memo includes a list of recommendations immigration judges and staff can follow. Suggestions include encouraging immigration judges to play an active role in pro bono training programs and improving court practices to allow more flexibility with pro bono schedules. It also encourages interaction and conversation between pro bonos and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attorneys.

“Pro bonos need to know the local immigration court rules on how to file with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and also need a lot of technical assistance, “ McGee said.

The memo also encourages immigration judges to be flexible when pro bono representatives request to appear in court remotely via telephone or video conference calls. Many immigrants are usually detained in detention centers located in remote areas that make in-person visits difficult and impracticable. Monica Newcomer Miller, Supervising Attorney for NMILC’s Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), leads a large team of pro bono volunteers. She believes these steps are important in providing access to justice for many immigrant and asylum seekers.

“It would save so much time, which is a limited resource for our *pro bono* team. Our nearest immigration court is in El Paso, so we rely on telephonic hearings but are often placed last in line for our hearings which means we wait anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours for a judge to take our case,” Newcomer Miller said.

Award-winning pro bono attorney, Julia Barnes, represented NMILC clients before the El Paso immigration court under the Trump administration. Immigration cases in New Mexico are filed and heard by the El Paso Immigration Court. Barnes says that in addition to distance barriers, direct representation cases tend to take more time.

“The biggest challenge was the travel to get to the prison,” Barnes stated. “It is about a two and a half hour drive each way. In addition the cases were very time intensive and it was a heavy motions practice.”

The memo also encourages immigration courts to support programs and organizations that provide legal orientations, group rights presentations, and self-help legal services. NMILC’s pro se asylum workshops provide legal information and help prepare respondents for hearings through mock court hearings and also by helping them prepare applications for relief. Self-help services can go a long way in helping respondents navigate the complexities of the immigration court systems.

“Respondents with representation are always nervous and on edge. I can’t imagine what applicants without legal counsel feel trying to tell a judge in an adversarial proceeding about their fear,” McGee stated.

It is important to acknowledge that due process issues will continue as long as the U.S. government detains immigrants in remotely located facilities far away from legal service providers. While the DOJ’s memo doesn't address this issue, NMILC recognizes this barrier and is proactively working to increase our pro bono partnerships.

Jessica Inez Martinez, NMILC Corrine Wolfe Transformative Advocacy fellow, is working on building partnerships with service providers throughout rural parts of our state and training pro bono attorneys to represent SIJS eligible children.

“Projects like these increase the well-being of immigrant children by developing a referral process in rural areas and through direct legal representation,” Martinez said.

The demand for pro bono representation will continue to accelerate as access to lawyers continues to be scarce in immigration courts. At NMILC, pro bono attorneys volunteered over 1,358 hours in 2021 and helped hundreds of individuals apply for relief. For information on our pro bono work and partnerships, or to sign up to volunteer, visit nmilc.org/pro-bono-attorneys.

Flaviano Graciano is the Communications Manager for the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center.

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