Do immigrants get public defenders in deportation hearings?
NO. Immigrants may not be represented by government-paid attorneys. This means that immigrants must either have the resources to hire a private attorney, or find an organization willing to take his or her case, or find a pro bono attorney. A common private representation rate for the Los Angeles region is between $4,000.00 to $5,000.00 per case. Immigration law is a particularly complicated area of administrative law, and is generally regarded as second in complexity only to tax law. If a person cannot afford an attorney, and if no volunteer attorney takes his or her case for free, the person will have to represent themselves in Immigration Court.
