[link removed] [[link removed]]
John,
Immigrants and their families appear in immigration court. However, the government is aggressively misrepresenting data to suggest otherwise.
I helped set the record straight and explain the Trump administration’s faulty calculations in this Wall Street Journal op-ed I wrote [[link removed]] that highlights findings from the Council’s newest fact sheet on appearance rates [[link removed]] .
I want to share these excerpts from the opinion piece with you:
...[O]ver the past decade, 1.97 million cases have been filed in immigration court for aliens not held in ICE detention. In 1.8 million of those cases, at least one scheduled court hearing has occurred. Among those, nearly 1.5 million showed up to every hearing—an appearance rate of 83%.
Asylum-seeking families are even likelier to appear in court. Of families released from detention from 2001-16, 86% attended every scheduled court hearing. Among families that had lawyers, 97% appeared in court. That makes sense—the only way for them to get the legal protection they need is to show up in court to argue for it. …
Given that the vast majority of asylum seekers do appear for court, the government should focus on ensuring that those seeking to follow the rules have a full opportunity to do so. A good start would be to restore the Family Case Management Program, established in 2016 and ended in 2017, which achieved a 95% compliance rate by helping families navigate the court process and building stability in their lives during proceedings. Keeping a family of two in this program cost taxpayers $38 a day, vs. $592 for detention. Even modest efforts like sending text messages before hearings could help people. It makes no sense to lock people up who only want to abide by the law. The administration should focus instead on helping them do so.
Read the full op-ed [[link removed]]
We hope that you will share the op-ed and fact sheet with others interested in finding real solutions based on the facts—not bad math.
Sincerely,
[[link removed]]
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Policy Analyst
Make a Contribution [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
ImmigrationCouncil.org [[link removed]] | unsubscribe: [link removed]
1331 G St. NW Suite 200. Washington, D.C., xxxxxx