Many Immigrants Face Deportation Without a Lawyer at Their Side in Court. This Program Tries to Help

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Many Immigrants Face Deportation Without a Lawyer at Their Side in Court. This Program Tries to Help

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Lawyer Kamalpreet Chohan ran her finger down a list of 57 names of people scheduled to appear during a morning of hearings at the immigration court in California's capital and pointed out one glaring absence.

"None of these folks are represented," she said.

Chohan is the coordinator of a program that sends volunteer lawyers to immigration courts to assist people without representation and help them navigate the complicated legal system where the stakes are a future in

Published 2026-08-09 14:07:53 UTC · Published by JQJO

Prepared by Adyan K. · AI assisted

More context

Timeline

On May 25, 2025 California Immigration Project warned ICE court presence deters immigrant attendance.
On November 5, 2024 Donald Trump won election pledging expanded nationwide deportation enforcement measures.
On December 31, 2024 Congressional Research Service reported legal counsel drastically increases asylum success.
On June 1, 2025 Immigration courts introduced mega master dockets to reduce pending backlogs.
On July 27, 2026 Federal court dockets registered record numbers of unrepresented deportation respondents.
On August 5, 2026 Trump administration awarded a single-source legal contract for unaccompanied children.
On August 9, 2026 Associated Press published detailed investigation into Sacramento court legal access.
On August 9, 2026 Sacramento Attorney of the Day program assists unrepresented immigration defendants.
On September 1, 2026 Volunteer lawyer programs will attempt expansion across regional immigration courts.
On January 1, 2027 Unrepresented asylum denial rates are expected to increase further nationwide.

Why it matters

Unrepresented immigrants face elevated immediate deportation risk during court proceedings. Expanding legal aid programs could increase asylum approval rates nationwide. Unrepresented immigrants, pro bono attorneys, Sacramento immigration court, federal judges. Verify legal rights and official immigration court representation availability data.

Coverage notes

Left: Highlights systemic lack of legal counsel endangering immigrants' due process. Center: Focuses on volunteer lawyer programs assisting unrepresented immigrants in court. Right: Emphasizes border enforcement priorities and reducing immigration court backlog cases.