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1 1 (July 28, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/aufgse0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ACongressional *aResearch Service informing the legislative debate since 1914___________________ Immigration Court Legal Access Programs: Terminations and Related Litigation July 28, 2025 Immigration courts within the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) are responsible for adjudicating proceedings to determine whether an alien (referred to as the respondent) may be removed from the United States. During these removal proceedings, respondents have the right to certain procedural protections found in the Immigration and Nationality Act, including the privilege of being represented, at no expense to the Government, by counsel of the alien's choosing who is authorized to practice in such proceedings. That is, respondents may obtain counsel, either at their own expense or by obtaining the services of the pro bono bar, but the federal government generally may not fund or appoint counsel. Many respondents do not have representation in removal proceedings. Beginning with pilot programs in detention facilities in the 1990s, EOIR has funded programs that offer legal orientations and other services to unrepresented respondents to improve efficiency in removal proceedings. Congress has appropriated funds for such programs since the early 2000s. In FY2024, Congress appropriated $28 million to the Legal Orientation Program. A full-year continuing resolution for FY2025 (P.L. 119-4) continued to fund EOIR at FY2024 levels and subject to the same conditions. Until recently, EOIR's Office of Legal Access Programs (OLAP) offered several initiatives that facilitated access to legal information and referrals, and these initiatives were administered by a contracted organization-most recently, the Acacia Center for Justice (Acacia)-that subcontracted with nonprofit legal service providers. Programs included the following: • Legal Orientation Program (LOP), established in 2003, which provided legal orientation and workshops and pro bono referrals for adults in immigration detention facilities; • Legal Orientation Program for Custodians (LOPC), established in 2010, which provided legal orientation for the adult caregivers of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) in removal proceedings; • Immigration Court Helpdesk (ICH), established in 2016, which provided legal orientations, workshops, pro bono referrals, and friend of the court services to non- detained respondents; Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12588 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress