Immigrant Legal Defense Fund proposed Amid increased ICE Activity

BOSTON – In less than six weeks this past summer,34 individuals connected to the immigrant grassroots organization Agencia ALPHA were detained and arrested by federal immigration enforcement on their way to work,Executive Director Patricia Sobalvarro told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Fifteen of them have been deported back to Guatemala or Honduras because they didn’t have access to an immigration attorney, Sobalvarro said.

“For someone who earns $15 an hour, and to be told that they have to pay $300 for 30 minutes with a private attorney, it’s inconceivable. Now imagine when they are told that to represent them they have to pay 10, 15, 20,000 dollars,” she said.

“The reality is that our constituents are left with two choices: to face immigration proceedings without counsel, or to accept their fate of an imminent deportation separated from their families.”

Sobalvarro was one of numerous advocates who pitched the Judiciary Committee on bills that would create an Immigrant Legal Defense Fund to provide immigrants facing deportation proceedings, who are not guaranteed an attorney, legal counsel if they’re unable to afford one.The legislation was one of several bills before co-chairs Sen. Lydia Edwards and Rep. mike Day pertaining to immigration-related issues.

Advocates have been raising concerns about an increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement action across Massachusetts and the nation, suggesting that immigrants who are both illegally and legally present in the state are missing work, skipping school or staying in their homes due to fears of detention.

ICE announced in October that more than 1,400 people were apprehended during a weeks-long immigration enforcement operation across Massachusetts called “Operation Patriot 2.0.”

Record-breaking deportations

Also in October, the Department of Homeland Security announced “record-breaking statistics,” that 527,000 illegal immigrants have been removed from the U.S. since President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem took office.

“More than 2 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. including 1.6 million who have voluntarily self-deported and over 527,000 deportations,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a release.

“This is just the beginning. President Trump and Secretary Noem have jumpstarted an agency that was hamstrung and barred fro