Bill Text: NJ A5021 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes immigration unit within Office of Public Defender.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-11-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee [A5021 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A5021-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes immigration unit within Office of Public Defender.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning representation by the Office of the Public Defender and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. There is established, within the Office of the Public Defender, a unit which shall, in the manner prescribed by P.L.1967, c.43 (C.2A:158A-1 et seq), provide for the legal representation of any noncitizen involved in the criminal justice system; any noncitizen committed to a State, county, or private psychiatric institution; and any noncitizen youth involved in the juvenile delinquency system along with legal assistance on immigration related matters.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes an immigration unit within the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) in order to provide legal representation and assistance to indigent noncitizens on immigration-related matters. The immigration unit would assist criminal justice-involved noncitizens, including noncitizen youth, in navigating immigration issues during and resulting from the court proceedings.
Pursuant to Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S.356 (2010), defense attorneys are required to advise their clients of the immigration consequences of any criminal conviction. Public defender agencies across the country employ specialized immigration lawyers to collaborate with attorneys in other areas of law to provide such guidance. According to the OPD, the New Jersey OPD currently employs only two such attorneys to advise on immigration-related matters, with one immigration attorney for every 600 noncitizen criminal defendants. Further, an immigration unit dedicated to immigration related counsel would also focus on the noncitizen juvenile population. According to the OPD, noncitizen youth involved in the delinquency and the child welfare systems face a particular set of challenges and can benefit from the immigration unit's holistic approach where immigration outcomes go hand-in-hand with the court proceedings.
