Now we are paying for lawyers for illegals? How can government even spend money on residents of another country? Why the hell would anyone want to encourage more lawlessness? Wait til the caravans find out how stupid we are, instead of 7,000 at a time it will 70,000 per caravan.

Across US, tax dollars being poured into 'legal defense fund for illegals'

In defiance of President Trump's hardline stands on immigration, more jurisdictions are going beyond "sanctuary city" policies and actively using taxpayer dollars to pay for legal representation for immigrants facing deportation.

This week Denver officials announced plans to set aside $385,000 to expand an immigrant legal defense program, Mayor Michael Hancock said.

“There is no greater responsibility that I have as mayor than to keep all residents of Denver, undocumented or not, safe and secure and when we have challenging language that comes out of Washington that threatens that very covenant that we have with all of our residents it makes it doubly difficult for us to help people feel safe in their city,” he said.

Others committing to designating public dollars for attorneys in immigration courts include lawmakers in Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, D.C.; New York; Austin, Texas; Atlanta, San Francisco and Portland, Ore.

"We are proud to be a sanctuary city," said former San Francisco Supervisor David Campos when he introduced the proposal to fund legal assistance. "And we're not only proud to stand up for that, but we're going to invest the resources needed to make sure that the 44,000 undocumented people who live in the city and county of San Francisco have, at a minimum, legal representation if they're taken into immigration court."

One Chicago public official, Alderman Nicholas Sposato, called it "the legal defense fund for the illegals," the Chicago Tribune reported. He was the only city Budget Committee member to vote against a $1.3 million plan in 2016 to assist immigrants who were facing deportation.

In September, Portland approved a $500,000 grant toward legal defense for potential deportees and Baltimore approved $200,000 for its own defense fund.

Some cities and states -- California, Colorado, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia and Maryland -- have joined up with the Vera Institute of Justice facilitate their programs.

The New York-based nonprofit spearheads the coalition, known as the Safety and Fairness for Everyone Network (SAFE).

People accused of being in the country illegally are not required to have a lawyer, unlike those facing criminal proceedings, where they must be represented by a public defender if they cannot afford an attorney. The government is not required to pay for an immigration court lawyer.

California has been providing attorney's to immigrants before Trump's election, but other SAFE members had not done so until the formation of the network, said network director Annie Chen.

Last year, Seattle passed a measure to put $1 million toward legal defense for immigrants and refugees. The money will be administered by community groups.

City leaders in Santa Ana, Calif., directed $65,000 last year toward its newly created legal defense fund and New York created the first statewide immigrant defense fund.

While immigration advocates have praised the initiatives, those who prefer stricter immigration laws have criticized them.

“It is simply bad public policy to be spending public funds at a time when everyone is strapped for cash and cannot fund the money for vital services," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in an interview last year. "Even if they are relatively small funders, they are directing much-needed resources from schools and roads to meet the political desires of lawmakers."

— Ira Mehlman, spokesman, Federation for American Immigration Reform
Some cities have faced opposition over its attempts to create similar programs.

A 2015 study published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review reported that detained immigrants with access to legal counsel were 10 times more likely to be granted legal residency than those without.

In a statement just after his city approved financial support for legal representation to immigrants, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said it was a matter of safety.

“Providing legal representation to those facing deportation maintains trust in law enforcement and our local institutions and keeps us all safe," Pugh said. "If our residents don’t feel safe – for example, coming forward to report crimes and cooperating with law enforcement – all of us are at more risk.”

WHAT THE FVCK IS THIS NONSENSE, DEFENSE AGAINST WHAT ? THIS HERE IS THE REASON THEY KEEP COMING HERE. WHY WHY WHY ARE DEMOCRATS DESTROYING THIS COUNTRY ?

Echoing what Skins & butterflyeffect said. Legal defense for an illegal alien who got caught breaking the law coming into my country? It's a no brainier. They got caught, they broke the law. They get deported. It's an affront to the people who come to the USA and go through the proper process to become citizens. It's also a stab at President Trump and his anti illegal immigration policies.

I am going to start walking into Best Buy and taking stuff. When loss prevention or local law gets to me and accuses me of stealing and am simply going to say I AM NOT A THIEF, I AM SIMPLY AN UNDOCUMENTED OWNER OF THIS PRODUCT AND I SAY GOOD DAY SIR!!!”

Somehow I don’t see that working out as well for me as swimming the Rio Grande.

quote:

Originally posted by Cliff:
Echoing what Skins & butterflyeffect said. Legal defense for an illegal alien who got caught breaking the law coming into my country? It's a no brainier. They got caught, they broke the law. They get deported. It's an affront to the people who come to the USA and go through the proper process to become citizens. It's also a stab at President Trump and his anti illegal immigration policies.

+1

Well put.

Can we deport the liberals as well? They really need to go.

These liberal, progressive democrats and ALL democrats in general will cause the decline, demise and death, of America. In the end, I hope these ignorant, stupid fools will be happy with what they have done.

A brewery in town held a fundraiser for illegals earlier this year. They’re dead to me now. Pale Fire Brewing in Harrisonburg, VA.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
A brewery in town held a fundraiser for illegals earlier this year. They’re dead to me now. Pale Fire Brewing in Harrisonburg, VA.

Do you know how that event turned out? They'd have to fare worse than the Red Hen after that kind of BS, no?

They’re doing fine. Their clientele is mostly in-town hipsters that love that sort of bullshit.

Really need to halt Federal revenue sharing and all other sources of Federal funds to states and municipalities, except for bona fide disaster relief. When these states and municipalities have to fund this kind of stupidity out of their own taxpayers' pockets they'll quickly learn to allocate their resources more wisely.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
They’re doing fine. Their clientele is mostly in-town hipsters that love that sort of bullshit.

They've infected all the way out there or are you talking about JMU students?

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Really need to halt Federal revenue sharing and all other sources of Federal funds to states and municipalities, except for bona fide disaster relief. When these states and municipalities have to fund this kind of stupidity out of their own taxpayers' pockets they'll quickly learn to allocate their resources more wisely.

This exactly. Cut off all federal funds from states, cities, and municipalities that are violating federal law. Period. Make it known publicly that they are the architects of state taxpayer monies being used as such. Even the most rabid leftist will change their mind when more and more of their own money is wasted as opposed to everyone else in the country.

Better make it a big one, they’re already starting to stack up at the border.

When i was back home over the summer I read in the Columbus Dispatch that Columbus was setting aside or was going to set aside some gawd awful amount for this non-sense.

Hopefully some of our resident forum members who live in the Buckeye State can verify this or not.

I am contemplating buying my parents house and moving back home (to Cols) but even Cols is starting to do some crazy things, (They have always in the past, but maybe I am noticing it more since being gone)

Well New Jersey is really stepping up it's progressive pro-illegal game. I wonder how many US citizens could benefit from $2.1 million? Probably a few widows, veterans, and seniors, but who gives a shit about them, when you can feel all warm and fuzzy about helping a citizen of another country here illegally, right?

Fox News - NJ to allocate $2.1M in aid for illegal immigrants facing deportation, governor says

How many votes can you buy with 2.1 million?

Where is the tipping point for this nonsense? Rationally speaking, it should have happened a long time ago, but here we are. Legal defense funds for illegal invaders with our money. What happened to OUR rights?

WHen I saw the title, I thought, "Doh." What do you think pays for public defenders.

But actually setting aside money from the budget??? Where is this money going to???

WTF.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
I am going to start walking into Best Buy and taking stuff. When loss prevention or local law gets to me and accuses me of stealing and am simply going to say I AM NOT A THIEF, I AM SIMPLY AN UNDOCUMENTED OWNER OF THIS PRODUCT AND I SAY GOOD DAY SIR!!!”

Somehow I don’t see that working out as well for me as swimming the Rio Grande.

You will have to wait for a riot or hurricane for that to work...

I’m sure some law firms will make a grab for the money available for the taking. Some low producing associates and legal secretaries will be sucking up billable hours. Everybody will want a piece of the pie. Like the above posters, I can’t believe this is actually happening.