Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump and his administration have made no secret of their plans to target immigrants, escalate a mass deportation agenda, expand United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations into schools, contract with for-profit prison companies to reopen shuttered detention centers, and detain people without criminal convictions at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. But other government leaders don’t have to sit idly by watching this cruelty unfold.

During the first Trump administration, dozens of state and local governments nationwide worked with Vera to create a network of public defender-style legal defense programs to protect local immigrants. Vera is once again expanding this Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Network, accepting applications for new members and offering a limited number of catalyst grants to help jurisdictions build or expand publicly funded deportation defense programs. Information can be found here.

A roadmap to block the mass deportation agenda

In criminal court, the Constitution guarantees all people the right to an attorney whether they can afford one or not. In immigration court, there is no such right, even though immigration law is notoriously complex and the consequences of deportation are devastating—and sometimes deadly. As a result, far too many people face deportation proceedings entirely alone. Across the United States, 67 percent of people facing deportation in immigration court lack legal counsel. Securing legal representation can be even more challenging for people in immigration detention.

Many people who are at risk of being targeted for arrest, detention, and deportation may have lawful claims to stay in the United States with their families and communities. The U.S. immigration system deports far too many people to countries where they face possible danger—and sometimes even manipulates people into consenting to deportation. Far too often people could have established legal residency with the assistance of someone trained in immigration law.

In 2017, Vera launched the SAFE Network to help governments, immigration legal service providers, and advocates build public defender-style systems for immigrants facing detention and deportation. The SAFE Network—which currently consists of 31 jurisdictions with universal representation programs at the local and state level—is growing. As part of a new effort, Vera is seeking to expand the network and is now accepting new applications for SAFE membership. SAFE members receive access to support with strategic communications and advocacy guidance, and access to program implementation and legal services training. A limited number of new SAFE members will also receive one-time catalyst grants of $100,000 to support the initiation or expansion of universal representation programs.

In all, more than 55 jurisdictions—including cities, counties, and states—have committed public funding to deportation defense. They represent a diverse range of locations from coast to coast, from the Midwest to the Deep South, bringing together providers in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and more.

Universal representation programs rest on the fundamental belief that all people facing deportation deserve due process and access to legal representation. There are many different models for how these programs can be structured. Some are run by public defender offices. Others are facilitated by nonprofit organizations. Some send attorneys into the places where immigrants are being detained to offer them assistance obtaining bond and gaining their freedom from prison-like conditions. Others provide helplines that immigrants can call for legal assistance. By deploying a range of legal service interventions these programs are making a real difference.

Human rights are being degraded in the immigration system

People facing deportation who have attorneys are more likely to be released from immigration detention and have case outcomes that allow them to remain in the United States than people who are forced to represent themselves in immigration court. Among immigrants who are held in detention, for example, those with legal representation are up to 10.5 times more likely to win their right to stay in the United States than those who are unrepresented.

Raina* credits her publicly funded attorney with saving her from deportation to Mexico, where she had been a victim of domestic violence. She came to the United States to request asylum, which is a right granted by U.S. and international law. Before she had an attorney, Raina spent weeks locked up in Clinton County Jail in Upstate New York, part of the massive U.S. detention system. In shackles, she was forced to sign papers that she couldn’t read because she did not speak English—papers that turned out to be a voluntary deportation order. She almost certainly would have been sent back to Mexico had she not been assigned an attorney through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, the first publicly funded deportation defense program in the country. Immediately, her treatment by immigration officials improved and she was given clearer information about the process ahead. “Everything change[s] once you can say that you have a lawyer and you are not alone,” Raina said.

Halinka Zolcik, the accredited representative who helped Raina get released from detention and apply for asylum, says it is typical for immigrants with and without lawyers to have wildly different experiences in immigration detention and in court. After Zolcik began working with Raina, ICE “started being careful,” she said. “It 1,000 percent changed how [she was] treated.”

How leaders can join the movement to protect due process

Investments in immigrant legal services—and passing legislation that establishes deportation defense programs or a right to counsel—are more urgent than ever. Trump's efforts to degrade due process, expand detention, and speed up deportations began as soon as he took office and have continued into the initial months of this administration. They underscore the need for state and local leaders to act boldly to protect the millions of immigrants who deserve a fair chance to defend their rights and contribute immeasurably to communities and economies across the United States.

In Massachusetts and Hawaiʻi, legislators have introduced new legislation to establish state-level deportation defense funds. In a recent special legislative session, California passed a bill to provide $25 million to support immigration services, and advocates there are seeking an additional $60 million in this year’s regular session to support urgently needed immigration legal services. At the New York State Capitol, immigrant rights advocates, elected officials, allies, and impacted people are fighting for a $165 million investment in state immigrant legal services funding, along with the passage of a law that would guarantee immigrants facing deportation the right to legal counsel in New York. At the city level, advocates in Philadelphia are seeking additional funds for their successful SAFE Network program.

For jurisdictions looking to build or expand publicly funded legal representation for people facing deportation, Vera is offering a unique opportunity to join the SAFE Network and receive catalyst funding for one year. Applications are due April 14, 2025.

Who can apply?

• Jurisdictions with publicly funded deportation defense programs that will leverage the funding to expand investment in their current program.
• Jurisdictions planning to launch new publicly funded deportation defense programs, with the help of the catalyst funding, by the end of the calendar year.
• Jurisdictions with existing publicly funded universal representation deportation defense programs that want to join the SAFE Network for access to network benefits.

No one should have to face the terror of deportation without a lawyer to protect their rights simply because they lack money. Ensuring that people have a legal advocate will help keep families together and protect their rights in this hostile time and beyond.

*Name changed to protect identity.