The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly gutted the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Recognition and Accreditation Program, which for more than 60 years has expanded access to legal services in the immigration system by permitting qualified non-attorney DOJ-accredited representatives, embedded in nonprofits with extensive experience, to provide legal representation for indigent immigrants.
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) has long participated in this critical program and the immigrant communities we serve have benefited from the important work of dozens of DOJ-accredited representatives. NIJC currently employs 10 accredited representatives who provide high-quality representation to immigrant communities and help lead NIJC’s efforts to secure and project immigrants’ rights.
NIJC Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy provided the following statement:
“Gutting the Recognition and Accreditation Program is the latest due process attack from the Trump administration. At NIJC, our accredited representatives have approximately a cumulative 60 years of legal representation experience and expertise. They represent children, domestic violence survivors, asylum seekers, people jailed and disappeared by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and many others. Accredited representatives, like their attorney peers, are a thorn on the administration’s side because they offer a day in court to immigrants and asylum seekers.
“Legal representation is more needed than ever to stop Trump’s mass deportation machine, which most Americans reject. We join nonprofit and faith-based partners nationwide in calling for the reinstatement of the Recognition and Accreditation Program staff. Meanwhile, NIJC’s accredited representatives will continue to ensure immigration proceedings comply with the standards set by the U.S. Constitution and law.”