“Immigration supporters say deportation can carry drastic consequences, including permanent family separation that harms spouses and children who are left behind and who may be American citizens.

The right to a lawyer can seem like a standard component of American law, particularly when one’s liberty is at risk. But in Immigration Court, even young children can be forced to serve as their own lawyers.

‘We have a system of fairness in this country, and everyone who resides here ought to have a day in court before their fate is decided,’ said Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, director of the Penn State Law Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, which produced the study with feedback from advocates HIAS Pennsylvania, the Nationalities Service Center, and PIRC.”