NEW YORK, N.Y. — The Vera Institute of Justice reported Tuesday that access to legal representation significantly improves immigrants’ chances of being granted relief in immigration court, according to a new three-year study.
Founded in 1961, the Vera Institute of Justice was originally intended to “advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City.” It now works to “transform the criminal justice and immigration systems until they’re fair for all” and partners with “impacted communities and government leaders for change.”
According to Vera, it does not want money to determine freedom. Instead, it aims for a future in which “fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention” and “everyone is treated with dignity.”
After conducting a three-year study, the Vera Institute of Justice found that “legal representation dramatically improves outcomes for detained immigrants facing deportation.”
To conduct the study, Vera analyzed the impact of the Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance. MIDA was formed in 2022 by “four organizations working towards universal representation of detained immigrants facing deportation before the Chicago Immigration Court.” Those four organizations are the National Immigrant Justice Center, The Resurrection Project, The Immigration Project and the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender.
The alliance has since “expanded to seven member organizations, comprising a total of 40 legal advocates” and provides “free, high-quality legal services to detained immigrants.” Its stated goal is “reducing deportation and building capacity for detained removal defense across the region.”
The study built on prior research that “demonstrated the benefits associated with legal counsel.” Vera said it “examined data from more than 3,000 immigration court cases between March 2022 and May 2025.” Among MIDA clients, people from “33 countries” and speakers of “18 different primary languages” were represented.
The report found that “the majority (68 percent) were employed before they were detained and worked across a wide range of industries,” including “construction, food service, and manufacturing.”
Among those who were employed and reported having a family, “76 percent were the primary breadwinner for their household.” Nearly half of those who reported family information lived with children under age 18 at the time they were detained. Of those children, 79 percent were U.S. citizens.
By analyzing MIDA’s impact, the study concluded that “providing access to such programs prevents wrongful deportation.” That, in turn, allows “far more people to successfully defend their right to relief in immigration court and [to] remain in the United States.”
Vera said that despite changes to the immigration court system and shifts “across presidential administrations,” access to legal representation remains “a solution that promotes fairness for people facing detention and deportation, safety and stability for communities, and due process in court proceedings.”
The study found that “representation prevents wrongful deportations.” According to the report, “being represented by a MIDA attorney increased a person’s likelihood of being granted relief by 366 percent” compared with someone who did not have a MIDA attorney. In practical terms, clients were “4.7 times more likely than nonclients to be granted relief and therefore to receive full protection from removal.”
The report also found that “representation helps secure freedom.” When represented by a MIDA attorney, a person’s likelihood of being released from detention on bond by an immigration judge increased by 46 percent, relative to someone who was not represented by MIDA.
Another key takeaway was that “representation is an enduring solution.” The research spanned the Joe Biden administration and the beginning of the second Donald Trump administration, finding that legal representation benefits immigrants across changing political administrations and shifting immigration policies.
Finally, the study concluded that “representation supports stable communities.” By having access to the MIDA program, “22 percent more people” received a case outcome that allowed them to remain in the United States compared with if the program had not been available.
Overall, Vera stated that “legal representation is a solution that promotes fairness, stability, and due process.”
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media – X, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
