The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender (CCPD) is one of the largest Public Defender Offices in the country, with twenty-two divisions and nearly 700 staff. CCPD provides legal representation for most of the criminal cases in Cook County, averaging more than 100,000 case appointments annually.
 
The CCPD estimates that at any given time, the Office represents approximately 700 non-citizen clients, from more than 80 different countries, in felony cases – all of whom face potential immigration consequences stemming from their criminal case.
     
The CCPD launched a new Immigration Unit that will ensure that assistant public defenders are adequately equipped to provide holistic legal representation for noncitizen clients.

This bill will enable the Immigration Unit to represent noncitizens facing deportation, and who otherwise would be forced to defend themselves pro se in immigration court proceedings.  We recognize the importance of representation for all and will work to ensure that immigrants in our community have a meaningful day in court.

In 2019, 1,476 immigrants were unrepresented in their bond hearings at the Chicago Immigration Court. This represents 48% of the nearly 3,000 total bond hearings in 2019. Not only is it important that we ensure that immigrants have adequate to representation especially in their bond hearings but it is critical in the outcome of their case, studies have shown that immigrants are 10.5 times more likely to have a successful outcome in their case if they have  legal representation.


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