AILF Files Amicus Brief with Attorney General on Ineffective Counsel

In an alarming development, close to the end of the current administration, the Attorney General has signaled that he may eliminate immigrants' long-standing ability to protect their rights and salvage their removal case when former counsel was ineffective. Operating under the severe time restraint imposed by the AG, AILF filed an amicus brief reiterating immigrants' constitutional, statutory and regulatory right to protection against ineffective assistance of counsel. The brief also recommends that the Attorney General not change the current process for evaluating ineffective assistance claims by further restricting immigrants' ability to pursue their claims. Instead, AILF urges the Attorney General to adopt ameliorative changes through notice and comment and develop a better system for remedying simple errors to avoid needless litigation. AILA and other organizations and individuals signed on to the AILF brief. The AG certification order and the AG extension order are also available for review.