Expert: "Lawyers Are Critical" In Immigration Court Cases

David Olson, Newsday, June 23, 2024

"Julio Zambrano arrived in Manhattan before dawn on Jan. 4 with his two young sons after a months-long trek from Ecuador, three of more than 200,000 migrants who have come to New York City in the past two years.  By early this month, Zambrano's future was still as much in limbo as when he arrived. He was awaiting an immigration court hearing to show why he "should not be removed from the United States.” ... Every migrant story is unique. But a tangle of federal immigration rules and laws, changes in New York City regulations and a vow by former President Donald Trump to use the National Guard to deport millions of immigrants if he returns to the White House mean there’s one thing most recent migrants share: uncertainty. President Joe Biden on June 4 toughened asylum restrictions, but “Julio came in before these recent changes, so it doesn’t affect him,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law practice at Cornell Law School in Ithaca and co-author of the 22-volume “Immigration Law and Procedure." Many recent migrants, including Zambrano, said they requested asylum at the border, though uncertainty for him remains. ... Lawyers are critical in asylum and other immigration hearings, Yale-Loehr said.  “If he has an attorney, his chances of winning are going to be much higher than if he tries to do it on his own,” he said. ... Which judge Zambrano ends up getting can make a huge difference, Yale-Loehr said.  “Some judges in New York are pretty lenient on asylum cases, and others are very tough,” he said. “As one person called it, it’s refugee roulette.”..."