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Donald Trump has repeatedly shown that he doesn’t care about the rule of law and attacking immigrants is his cheap way to score political points with his MAGA base. Mahmoud Khalil is facing deportation after he was taken by federal immigration workers and told that his green card had been revoked, without any prior notification or due process, for simply exercising his first amendment right. This administration’s relentless targeting of immigrants shows no signs of slowing down, and its mass deportation agenda is tearing families apart.
Without access to legal representation, immigrants face another barrier to being able to mount a deportation defence or even getting on the path to work permits. In immigration court, they are forced to navigate a complex legal system without a lawyer if they can't afford one. Backlogs in immigration courts and cuts in government funding have created an insufficient system, leaving countless individuals without the guidance they desperately need.
But there is hope. New York City is leading the way—the City Council just passed the Access to Representation Act Resolution today!
Albany lawmakers must do the same and invest $165 million in legal services and pass both the Access to Representation Act (ARA) and the Bolstering Unrepresented Immigrant Legal Defense (BUILD) Act to guarantee universal representation. These measures would ensure anyone at risk of deportation who cannot afford a lawyer will be provided one, giving every New Yorker a fair chance to remain with their families and in their communities.
We need your voice to make this happen. Together, we can fight for a justice system that treats everyone fairly.
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