Massachusetts Legal Aid Program Provides Free Counsel to Immigrants Facing Deportation
Alma Cothias begins her day at the Massa Viana Law office around 8:45 a.m., after dropping her children off at school. With coffee in hand and electronic dance music playing, she prepares for a demanding schedule. Cothias currently manages 32 clients, all in removal proceedings, and anticipates even more as her calendar fills with weekly immigration court hearings throughout May.
State-Funded Initiative Addresses Critical Need
Cothias is one of 24 attorneys providing free legal aid to immigrants through the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative (MACI), a $5 million program launched in late 2025. The state Legislature created this program in response to federal mass deportation campaigns that detained over 390,000 immigrants in their first year alone.
"We know that there is so much need for legal services for immigrants right now," said Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), which manages the program. "For so many immigrants going into immigration court right now, the stakes feel incredibly high."
The program addresses a fundamental gap in the immigration system. Since immigration matters are considered civil rather than criminal, individuals in removal proceedings have a right to an attorney but must secure one at their own expense.
Overwhelming Demand and Funding Challenges
The Legislature established MACI last summer after federal agencies detained 7,000 Massachusetts immigrants, deporting many of them. MIRA signed a $4.2 million contract with the state Office for Refugees and Immigrants in November, with the first attorneys beginning work in December.
Governor Maura Healey's proposed fiscal 2027 budget would maintain funding at $5 million, while Senate President Karen Spilka seeks to add an extra $1 million this fiscal year, bringing the allocation to $6 million. MIRA has expressed ambitions for $15 million in the next fiscal year, noting that "programs are at capacity right now, with demand outstripping capacity."
Severe Attorney Shortage Compounds Crisis
As of February, there were 126,724 removal cases pending against Massachusetts residents in immigration court, with only about 52% of individuals having legal representation. In New Bedford alone, 2,271 removal cases exist, with 59% having representation.
"We would think it's a really bad idea for someone to defend themselves in a murder trial," said immigration attorney Robin Nice. "Their lives are on the line and yet we're asking them to represent themselves and navigate a complex legal system."
Massachusetts faces a severe shortage of immigration lawyers, with only 114 listed in the American Immigration Lawyers Association directory. Susan Church, chief operating officer at the state's Office for Refugees and Immigrants, testified that "we are extremely under-resourced in immigration attorneys," leading to decisions to recruit attorneys from out of state and train lawyers from other fields.
Program Structure and Eligibility Requirements
The Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative operates through two primary systems. The Massachusetts Center for Immigrant Representation focuses on clients in federal immigration detention, partnering with the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Currently, MACI has intake systems at two New England detention facilities: Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts and the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island.
Additionally, MIRA has contracts with 14 organizations across Massachusetts that host MACI attorneys. In New Bedford, both the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts and the Immigrants' Assistance Center participate, each receiving $130,000 in reimbursement payments. Several private law firms, including Southborough-based Massa Viana Law where Cothias works, also participate.
To qualify for MACI services, individuals must have household income at or below 125% of the federal poverty level and be applying for specific relief programs such as asylum, adjustment of status, Temporary Protected Status, or Special Immigrant Juvenile status. They must also have no open charges or convictions for listed offenses including felonies involving abuse, child pornography, kidnapping, or firearms violations.
Overwhelming Response and Geographic Reach
Since December, the MACI hotline has received 6,000 calls, with 697 callers found eligible for services. However, only 461 have been assigned attorneys due to resource limitations. "We knew at the outset of this program that the need would far exceed the resources," Church acknowledged. "We knew that at some point in time there would be a waitlist."
Cothias has witnessed the program's expanding geographic reach. "At the beginning, we were getting people from at most a half-hour away," she said. "But recently, I have been getting clients from as far away as Springfield, and their hearing is in Connecticut."
The Critical Importance of Legal Representation
Cothias emphasizes the transformative impact of legal representation. "The clients really don't know what they can do for themselves," she observed. "They're very thankful to have someone fighting for them."
Nice highlights the structural challenges within immigration court, noting that both judges and prosecutors work for the U.S. Attorney General. "This is a political instrument, so to readers who may be thinking everyone has a fair shot, they don't," she explained. "It's not one against one, it's two against one."
This reality underscores why legal aid programs like MACI are essential. "It's an absolute bare minimum requirement to have an attorney," Nice concluded. "There's no fair shot unless they have one."
