Politics

California Budget Proposal Includes Millions For Illegal Immigrant Legal Defense

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
Font Size:

California Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal includes tens of millions of dollars for the legal defense of illegal immigrants.

The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that the budget would include a total of $33 million in state government assistance to illegal immigrants.

These funds, however, are not enough for some Democrats in the state who seek to launch new programs. Democratic legislators have proposed three separate bills that impact legal training, start a legal defense program and increase counsel for deported veterans. These proposals add up to more than $26 million.

Ronald Coleman, government affairs director for the California Immigrant Policy Center, told the Times that these programs are “key given that California can be ground zero for the devastation that we would face from Donald Trump’s deportation policies.”

The $15 million cash-influx proposed by the Democratic governor would help with people facing deportations or seeking citizenship. Laura Polstein, an attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza, said this money would be a “game changer” for immigration lawyers.