Print this article
SAN DIEGO The county of San Diego has proposed a new $5 million program that will give free legal aid to illegal immigrants facing deportation.
“The lack of appointed counsel means that tens of thousands of people each year go unrepresented, including asylum-seekers, longtime legal residents, immigration parents or spouses of U.S. citizens, and even children,” wrote San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer in a memo. “They are left to defend themselves in an adversarial setting and notoriously complex system against the United States government.”
Lawson-Remer placed the matter on the agenda for a Tuesday board meeting, where it will likely pass. The county has a 3-2 Democratic majority that took power after the November election.