The New York State Bar Association is urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature to establish a right to counsel in immigration proceedings.
If passed into law, New York would become the first state in the nation to have such a statutory requirement. The association is also supporting a position taken by the American Bar Association calling for a federally funded system of appointed counsel for indigent defendants facing removal from the country.
“We must ensure for immigrants due process and that the principles of fundamental fairness are observed in any judicial setting in which they appear,” NYSBA president Hank Greenberg said in a press release that is to be released today.