Advocates of amnesty for illegal aliens constantly push for measures designed to inhibit deportation. AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) also falls into that category. One of the positions that it constantly advocates is for the government to provide legal counsel for aliens in deportation proceedings. Obviously that would be a major revenue enhancement for immigration lawyers because deported aliens generally are in the country illegally and do not have the assets to hire a lawyer.
So, when CNN Money reported on April 13 about the steep costs associated with deporting illegal aliens, it was not surprising that AILA’s advocacy director referred to illegal aliens who never had a chance to argue their case before a judge. That statement is misleading because the deportees he is referring to were given a chance to argue their case before a judge but chose not appear and, as a result, were ordered deported.
The misleading information was supplemented by a University of California at Merced professor Tanya Golash Boza, who told CNN Money that, “They can hire their own lawyer. But unlike U.S. citizens, the government won’t pay for one if they can’t afford it.” That statement is misleading because the government does not provide public defenders in civil cases, only criminal cases, and deportation cases are civil, not criminal.