Institute for Defense Analyses

The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is a not-for-profit corporation that exists to promote national security, preserve the public welfare, and advance scientific learning. With deep expertise in economic analysis, IDA studies government programs to assess their benefits and costs. With MacArthur support, IDA previously surveyed federally funded programs that offer legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children (UACs) in deportation proceedings. The results of the scoping phase inform a full study to determine the effects of these counsel programs on various stakeholders throughout the immigration system, including the children themselves; adjudicators within federal agencies and the immigration courts; and the non-governmental organizations implementing the programs with federal dollars. The resulting analysis will assess whether and how federal programs for UAC legal representation can expand nationwide in a cost-effective manner for all stakeholders.

The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is a not-for-profit corporation that exists to promote national security, preserve the public welfare, and advance scientific learning. With deep expertise in economic analysis, IDA studies government programs to assess their benefits and costs. In this scoping project, IDA is surveying federally funded programs that offer legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children (UACs) in deportation proceedings. From these findings, IDA is designing a full study to determine the effects of these counsel programs on various stakeholders throughout the immigration system, including on the children themselves; adjudicators within federal agencies and the immigration courts; and the non-governmental organizations implementing the programs with federal dollars.