Study: immigration rep increases success rate by 366%
05/01/2026, National, Report, Immigration
A randomized study from the Vera Institute on immigration representation provided by the Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance (MIDA) found that “Being represented by a MIDA attorney increased people’s likelihood of being granted relief by 366 percent relative to similarly situated nonclients”, and that it increased the chance of being released on bond by 22 percent. Notably, “Vera found that the immigration judges differed substantially in their propensity to grant different outcomes, even after accounting for demographic and case characteristics and legal representation. However, the results show that being assigned to one judge versus another did not erode the positive impacts of the MIDA program.”
