The New York State Assembly in session inside the New York State Capitol, Albany, New York. (Photo: Ron Antonelli/Bloomberg)

Key Democrats in the New York Legislature have proposed a bill that would require access to an attorney for any resident of New York facing deportation, regardless of whether that individual is lawfully residing in the country, in a move that's also supported by the New York State Bar Association.

The Access to Representation Act, introduced Wednesday, would provide a statutory right to counsel for indigent individuals facing deportation.

It's sponsored by Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, D-Queens, and State Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Democrat from Manhattan who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hoylman said Tuesday that data on immigration proceedings supports their effort.

"For an immigrant facing deportation, having an attorney on their case can be the difference between staying in New York or being separated from their family: 78% of immigrants with attorneys win their cases, while only 15% of immigrants without attorneys are successful," Hoylman said.

The right to an attorney is currently provided statutorily for individuals facing criminal charges in the U.S., regardless of their immigration status. Cruz said the same right should be extended to immigrants facing deportation, even though those matters are considered civil.

"While immigration law is civil in nature, the consequences of violating the law are the same as those faced by criminal defendants—loss of liberty, forced separation from family or worse, death—when forced to return to a country that persecutes their very existence," Cruz said.

The idea was first proposed by the State Bar Association last year at the tail end of the legislative session. It was developed by the State Bar's Committee on Immigration Representation and adopted by the organization's governing body in June.

Hank Greenberg, the current president of the State Bar Association and a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, told the New York Law Journal in late December that the measure would be among their top legislative priorities this year. He said the same Wednesday.

"NYSBA has a long tradition of advocating for fair treatment and equal access to justice for all," Greenberg said. "We look forward to working with them to help this legislation be enacted into New York State law and to continuing to help ensure that immigrants have access to the legal services they need."

Attorneys are currently available to immigrants at no cost from civil legal services groups, but the workload of those organizations largely depends on the amount of funding they're given from the state and local governments.

New York has the Liberty Defense Project, for example, which provides state funding to private law firms, bar associations and other entities to support legal services for the state's immigrant population.

The new law proposed by Hoylman and Cruz Wednesday would, essentially, remove money from the conversation on funding legal representation for deportation proceedings.

As a statutory right, the legislation would require that the state pay for any legal representation needed by immigrants facing deportation. That right would only be guaranteed below a certain income threshold, which wasn't immediately available Wednesday.

That strategy is intended to prevent obstacles in the state budget, like this year's $6.1 billion budget deficit, from stifling public funding for legal services targeted toward deportation proceedings.

Democrats on Wednesday did not include an estimated annual cost of the legislation in their announcement of the measure. The State Bar Association did not include such an estimate in their report supporting the idea last year.

The legislation is supported by the New York Immigration Coalition, an advocacy group focused on immigration-related issues. The NYIC was also a plaintiff in litigation against the Trump administration, in recent years, over a citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. Census.

Steven Choi, executive director of the NYIC, said the legislation will help combat increased efforts from the Trump administration to deport undocumented immigrants.

"Today, more New Yorkers are at heightened risk of deportation from the Trump administration's voracious targeting of immigrants," Choi said. "We need bold action from New York State to protect our immigrant communities."

Bill language on the legislation wasn't immediately available Wednesday, but Hoylman's office said in a news release that the measure would provide a constitutional right to an attorney for immigrants facing deportation.

The measure, however, would not amend the state constitution. According to a summary of the bill, it would amend the executive law to require the director of the state Office of New Americans to administer a right to counsel program.

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NY Bar Association Wants Every Immigrant Facing Deportation to Have an Attorney