This New York Times editorial comments on the inadequate deportation process in America, and discusses the dearth of competent legal representation for immigrants facing deportation. Immigrants facing deportation are not entitled to a government appointed attorney unlike indigent people charged with criminal offenses. Consequently, many poor immigrants are forced to represent themselves during their complex removal proceedings. This proves to be a significant disadvantage, and the report sited by the Times shows that noncitizens with a lawyer fare much better in their immigration case:
About 67 percent of those with lawyers. . . were allowed to stay, while only 8 percent of those without counsel avoided deportation.
