Immigrant deportation cases soar as legal aid falls short

Nearly 1.8 million new immigration cases landed in the Justice Department’s court system in fiscal 2024, and 3.6 million cases were still pending at year’s end. A legal-aid program is trying to keep immigrants from walking into deportation proceedings alone.

Immigration courts sit inside the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, and removal proceedings run under Section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Immigration judges decide whether noncitizens are removable and, if so, whether they qualify for relief such as asylum. Unlike criminal defendants, people in immigration court generally have no guaranteed right to a government-funded attorney.

The Trump administration’s mass-deportation push has added pressure to a civil court system already burdened by filings, deadlines and language barriers. Deportation can separate families, end employment and send people back to countries they have not seen in years. In removal proceedings, lawyers can gather evidence, prepare asylum claims, challenge procedural mistakes and make sure the right papers reach the court on time.

EOIR data showed that only 44 percent of the 5.6 million people who appeared in immigration courts from 2002 to 2022 had an attorney. A separate legal-aid summary using EOIR data found that more than 30 percent of people in pending immigration proceedings were unrepresented in 2018. For people already in detention, a missed filing or a no-show can mean a longer wait behind bars while the case moves slowly through the docket.

The Vera Institute of Justice’s Immigration Court Legal Representation Dashboard tracks cases before U.S. immigration courts and the share of people facing deportation with counsel. On Nov. 20, 2025, the American Immigration Council called access to lawyers critical amid Trump’s mass-deportation campaign.