MORE CITIES OFFERING TO PAY LEGAL DEFENSE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Sacramento City Council members on Thursday approved the use of taxpayer dollars to provide legal services and support the legal defense of illegal immigrants facing deportation.
The City Council has earmarked a sum of $300,000 from the general fund to provide urgent legal and support services to Sacramento families facing the immediate threat of separation due to deportation.
“The reality is there is a lot of fear,” said Councilman Eric Guerra. “We can alleviate that fear.”
A professor at Sacramento’s McGeorge School of Law, Blake Nordahl said the school’s immigration clinic has been faced with increasing pressure in recent months.
Blake Nordahl said “We are strained. We are beyond capacity.” He disclosed further that clients are “afraid to bring kids to school” or make a report of crime committed around them.
Sacramento Council Chairman, Eric Guerra disclosed to Fox News through an email that their move to support legal defense is a reflection of a “commitment to treat all Sacramento residents equally and with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
It would be recalled that officials in Michigan’s Washtenaw County had approved the payment of such legal bills with taxpayer funds.
These moves have been heavily criticized by many who feel they are coming at a time when most cities across the country are low on resources. Ira Mehlman, the spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) said, “It is simply bad public policy to be spending funds at a time when everyone is strapped for cash and cannot fund the money for vital services.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a body responsible for supporting stricter controls on immigration.