Vera Institute of Justice

Overview

Universal representation—a public defender system for all immigrants facing deportation—is based on the fundamental belief that everyone deserves due process under the law. While a growing movement works toward a legally mandated and federally funded representation system, several counties, cities, and states have stepped up to fund deportation defense programs. Although many of these programs have not yet grown to full scale, they have adopted a universal representation model—one advancing the equitable delivery of legal services and rejecting narratives that some people are more deserving than others of due process and dignity. This summary describes the best practices and lessons learned from Vera’s experience—and the experiences of partners and national leaders implementing programs funded locally or at the state level that have adopted this universal model. This fact sheet provides a summary of insights included in the third module of Advancing Universal Representation: A Toolkit for Advocates, Organizers, Legal Service Providers, and Policymakers.