SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer introduced a plan Tuesday intended to make San Diego the first southern border county in the United States with a program to provide legal representation for immigrants facing removal proceedings.
Lawson-Remer’s office claims the proposed initiative the Immigrant Rights Legal Defense Program – – is intended to help address the current backlog in immigration courts, while also saving taxpayer dollars and supporting the local economy.
As proposed, the program would use taxpayer dollars to fund attorneys to represent detained immigrants in San Diego County. It would start as a $5 million one-year pilot project, and eventually grow to be a permanent resource housed in the San Diego County Office of the Public Defender and work in partnership with regional immigrant defense agencies and nonprofits.
US Senate Candidate Speaks Out Against County Supervisors Siding With Trump Administration
By Mario A. Cortez
This Wednesday, California U.S. Senate candidate Kevin de Leon made a stop in San Diego as part of his statewide campaign tour.
During a media briefing held at Chicano Park, de Leon gave an address focused on immigration-related topics and a federal lawsuit from the presidential administration against California laws.
“Immigrant families, like mine, who still live right here deserve a shot at the American dream just like past generations of immigrants who have come to this country and have made it great,” de Leon opened.
Photo by Mario A. Cortez
Community leaders held a press conference this past Tuesday, May 31, condemning the excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies against peaceful protesters demonstrating against Donald Trump’s visit to San Diego on Friday, May 27.
The press conference, held curbside on the Mercado del Barrio development on Cesar Chavez Parkway, served as an opportunity to openly call out Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman on their choice to deploy a large contingent of officers in riot and paramilitary gear, as well as the use of small tanks and pepper balls.
The overzealous deployment of police force has lead to an erosion of the trust that the community has had in law enforcement and is also seen as a violation of the First Amendment right of the community to express their stance and peacefully congregate, the group said.
SAN DIEGO
The county Board of Supervisors will examine whether its policies, programs and practices perpetuate racism under a proposal by Chair Nathan Fletcher and Vice Chair Nora Vargas.
The proposal going before the board next Tuesday identifies racism as a health crisis because it is linked to diseases and other physical ailments, the two supervisors said in a remote press conference Tuesday attended by representatives of several health and community groups.
“By declaring racism a public health crisis, we are acknowledging the reality that racism underpins the health inequities that we see throughout our society,” Fletcher said.
Vargas said the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed inequities in health care, but such inequities exist in many other areas.