Evaluating the Impact of the Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance
Overview
Having legal representation helps ensure due process and is associated with more positive case outcomes for people facing deportation. In 2022, the Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance (MIDA) was formed by four organizations to provide legal representation for people in the Chicago immigration court whose cases begin in immigration detention: The National Immigrant Justice Center, The Resurrection Project, The Immigration Project, and the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender. These organizations developed a collaborative model to provide legal representation on a merits-blind basis, which ensures equity in access to representation. A larger share of people on the Chicago detained docket are being represented one year into the MIDA program, in spite of an increasing number of cases before the court. In this report, the Vera Institute of Justice evaluates the impact of MIDA and this model of universal representation during the coalition’s first year.
Key Takeaway
Cases with representation have historically fared much better in immigration court. One year after MIDA’s formation, a larger share of people on the Chicago detained docket have representation, despite an increasing number of cases before the court. This model ensures equity and has resulted in many MIDA clients establishing a right to remain in the United States.
Publication Highlights
MIDA does not turn clients away based on the merits of their case and ensures people who have a history with the criminal legal system are not barred from access to counsel.
Among MIDA clients whose cases reached an initial ruling in immigration court, 36 percent established the right to remain in the United States with the assistance of counsel.
MIDA clients have higher rates of employment prior to detention than the overall Illinois population. Of clients for whom prior employment status is known, 68 percent were employed in the 12 months before being detained.