Informal Opinion: Indigent Persons Facing Deportation Should Have the Right to Appointed Counsel

Even for a misdemeanor, an indigent person who is facing any jail time is entitled to appointed counsel. Because deportation is considered to be “civil” rather than “criminal,” however, an indigent person facing deportation is not entitled to appointed counsel. “It does not make sense,” Tova Indritz says, but she offers “a spot of good news.”