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WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union announced their support for Congressman Anthony G. Brown’s legislation, H.R. 3775, the Equal Justice for Immigrants Act.

“For many people in immigration proceedings, a deportation order is a death sentence. Worse still, our immigration system is a labyrinth that is difficult for even seasoned attorneys to navigate,” said Madhuri Grewal, Federal Immigration Policy Counsel at the ACLU. “The ACLU has long advocated that individuals in deportation proceedings be provided with counsel. Access to an attorney increases the chances that an individual is given a full and fair hearing. We are grateful to Representative Brown for introducing a bill that provides a lawyer for indigent persons and vulnerable populations as they appear before an immigration judge.”

“The President’s attacks on America’s immigrant communities are more effective when people in our broken immigration system do not have access to counsel,” said Congressman Anthony Brown. “I am proud of the work we are doing to provide legal representation to those facing indefinite detention and deportation regardless of who they are or whether they have credible asylum claims, and I am thankful for the ACLU’s support.”

A day after the Trump administration announced new plans to end asylum protections for people traveling from South and Central America through Mexico, Congressman Anthony G. Brown (MD-04), a first generation American and former Army JAG Officer, introduced the Equal Justice for Immigrants Act to guarantee all indigent persons in the immigration court system the right to request government-appointed counsel to represent them in immigration court proceedings.

The Equal Justice for Immigrants Act also reforms the immigration court system by increasing opportunities for appeal and judicial review, prohibiting case production quotas required of immigration court judges, authorizing additional resources for these priorities, and reversing President Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols, dubbed the “Remain in Mexico” program. The bill is also endorsed by Immigration Hub and CASA.