DC to Use Taxpayer Money to Pay for Illegal Alien Legal Defense Fees
January 11, 2017 By State & Local 2 Comments
Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced this week that the District of Columbia will begin awarding taxpayer-funded grants to defense lawyers and nonprofit organizations to represent illegal alien residents facing immigration or other law enforcement proceedings. The $500,000 fund was created in a response to the election of Donald Trump, whose platform promised increasing border security and enforcing federal immigration law, despite a federal law prohibiting the expenditure of government money on legal representation for aliens in immigration matters. Trump’s platform energized American voters largely because of his pledges to enforce immigration laws and combat sanctuary cities.
The city will contribute part of the fund to help illegal alien residents obtain representation to apply for asylum or other forms of relief currently available under the Obama Administration’s policies. Removal proceedings, as well as asylum and other adjustment of status proceedings, are civil proceedings. Publicly funded legal representation for civil proceedings is generally something that is not provided to U.S. citizens who face civil legal issues, such as foreclosures, evictions proceedings, child custody cases, or divorce proceedings. Aliens that wish to be represented by legal counsel are free to do so, but federal law stipulates that it must be at no cost to the government.
http://immigrationreform.com/2017/01/11/dc-to-use-taxpayer-money-to-pay-for-illegal-alien-legal-defense-fees/
