Thread by @ReichlinMelnick

New analysis from @TRACReports directly contradicts @DHSMcAleenan's testimony in front of Congress, confirming that he was dead wrong when he accused families of failing to appear in court.

TRAC: Most Released Families Attend Immigration Court Hearings trac.syr.edu/immigration/re…

At a hearing last week, DHS Acting Secretary @DHSMcAleenan told Congress that "90 percent of [families placed on the accelerated Family Unit Docket] did not show up for their hearings."

In reality? Just 14.5 percent of families missed their first hearing in court.

This new report also provides an interesting breakdown of appearance rates for families on the new docket by court. The outlier courts are fascinating to me. The Atlanta court is notoriously an "asylum-free zone," and I wonder whether its reputation has scared some away.

The @TRACReports analysis also broke down appearance rates for the Family Unit Docket by country. Somewhat lower appearance rates among Guatemalans and Hondurans than other countries, but not hugely so. Could be due to issues with rare language speakers and support networks?

TRAC also provides evidence that the representation rate for the Family Unit Docket is abysmal so far.

Just 21.2% of families placed on the docket who have had at least one hearing have a lawyer.

By comparison, 49.2% of people placed into court in FY2018 have lawyers.

So, the takeaway from this new @TRACReports analysis is that, yes, families ARE showing up for court, despite DHS's claims otherwise.

Although TRAC doesn't explain where ICE got that absurd "90 percent" statistic, I explained and debunked it here!

https://twitter.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1118644928479842304