The Representation Gap

No Right to a Lawyer

In criminal court, if you can't afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. That's the Sixth Amendment. It does not apply to immigration court.

Immigration proceedings are technically "civil" — even though the consequence is being ripped from your home, separated from your family, and sent to a country where you may face persecution or death. Because it's "civil," there is zero constitutional right to appointed counsel. If you can't afford a lawyer — and at $5,000-$15,000 per case, most immigrants can't — you represent yourself.

Think about what that means in practice: a Guatemalan farmer who speaks Mam (a Mayan language spoken by 19,252 people in our data) stands before an immigration judge and argues complex asylum law against a trained ICE trial attorney. The proceedings are in English, through an interpreter. The farmer must prove, under a preponderance of evidence, that they meet the legal definition of a "refugee" under INA §208.

The Language Barrier

The representation gap is compounded by a massive language barrier. Of 9,433,266 cases with language data:

92.1% of respondents don't speak English. They navigate asylum forms, evidentiary submissions, and legal arguments through interpreters — if interpreters for their language are even available. For speakers of indigenous languages like Mam (19,252 cases), K'iche' (14,235 cases), or Konjobal (11,972 cases), even finding an interpreter can be impossible.

What Lawyers Actually Do

It's not just about arguing in court. An immigration attorney:

• Identifies relief options: Many respondents qualify for protections they don't know exist — cancellation of removal, VAWA protections, U-visas for crime victims, withholding under CAT.
• Gathers evidence: Country condition reports, expert declarations, medical records, police reports from the home country. An unrepresented person wouldn't know what evidence is needed or how to get it.
• Prepares testimony: Asylum hinges on credibility. Attorneys coach clients to present their stories clearly and consistently — not to lie, but to present traumatic experiences in the structured way the court expects.
• Prevents in absentia orders: Files address changes, tracks hearing dates, requests continuances. Of the 2,162,444 in absentia orders, a huge proportion involve unrepresented respondents.
• Files appeals: The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) exists, but filing an appeal requires legal expertise that pro se respondents simply don't have.

Who Gets a Lawyer?

Representation isn't randomly distributed. You're more likely to have an attorney if you:

• Live in a major metro: NYC, LA, San Francisco, and Chicago have dense networks of pro bono legal organizations and law school clinics.
• Are not detained: Non-detained respondents have years to find attorneys. Detained respondents, held in remote facilities with limited phone access, have far less ability to find and work with lawyers.
• Have community connections: Established immigrant communities share attorney referrals. Recent arrivals without networks are on their own.
• Can pay: Immigration attorneys charge $5,000-$15,000+ per case. Most respondents earn minimum wage or less.

The Gender Dimension

Of 5,197,134 cases with gender data, 3,078,745 (59.2%) are male and 2,118,389 (40.8%) are female. The representation gap hits both genders, but women face unique challenges — domestic violence claims require specific evidence, VAWA protections have complex eligibility rules, and women with children face additional barriers to attending hearings and meeting with attorneys.