There’s one main difference between Chinese and Mexican immigrants who come to the US illegally

*First, an explanation. We don’t use the term illegal on our site, but the headline is native to the Quartz publication, so in this instance we kept it. Second, this story says a lot about what happens in the back-logged, understaffed world of U.S. immigration courts. Immigrants are better off if they have legal representation, but the government is under no obligation to provide it or inform people that they can have a lawyer. VL

By Neha Thirani Bagri, Quartz (1.5 minute read)

In the United States, murderers, rapists, and others who have been charged with a federal crime are entitled to court-appointed lawyers if they cannot afford one. But the government is under no such obligation to provide professional legal representation to immigrants facing deportation, because they are facing civil, not criminal, charges. And that often means that even children in immigration court are left to defend themselves against trained attorneys representing the government and arguing for deportation.

A new study by the American Immigration Council, which advocates for immigrants’ rights, looked at 1.2 million deportation cases between 2007 and 2012 and found that only 37% of immigrants facing removal secure legal representation. Those who were held in detention centers, prisons, or jails, and unable to travel to an attorney’s office or pay legal fees, were even less likely to be represented by a lawyer in court—only 14% secured an attorney, compared with 66% for non-detained immigrants. READ MORE