The Erlenborn Commission Report

Abstract

“The Erlenborn Commission was authorized by a resolution of the Corporation’s Board of Directors on November 16, 1998, to study the presence requirement in the Corporation’s statutory restriction on the representation of eligible aliens. Since 1983, the Corporation’s appropriations act and its regulation on the representation of aliens have required that an alien be “present in the United States” to be eligible for legal assistance from an LSC grantee. Neither the appropriations act nor the Corporation’s regulations define the term “present in the United States.” The Commission solicited written comments from the public and held two public hearings duly noticed in the Federal Register. The Report of the Commission is based on a thorough analysis of the applicable statutory provisions, the extensive record compiled from the comments and testimony regarding the circumstances under which representation of eligible aliens occurs and the practices of legal services grantees relating to eligible aliens.”