SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson wants to prevent taxpayers from paying legal bills for immigrants who commit crimes and are facing deportation.
On Tuesday, December 5, Anderson will ask his colleagues to vote in favor of changing the Immigrant Rights Legal Defense Program to stop what he says is taxpayer money going toward the legal defense of drug smugglers, murderers and rapists who are facing deportation.
The Immigrant Rights Legal Defense Program passed in April 2022, set aside $5 million in county funds to pay for legal representation for detained immigrants who are facing deportation.
When enacted, the program received glowing support from organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, as well as others.
However, Supervisor Anderson says he found a major loophole in the law that forces county taxpayers to pick up the tab for legal defenses for convicted criminals, some of whom have been tried and convicted of serious violent crimes.
During a review of the program, Anderson found at least 34 cases where taxpayers were paying to defend convicted felons in their deportation hearings.
Those cases, according to Anderson's staff, include 13 felony convictions for drug smuggling, murder and rape as well as eight drug trafficking cases, money laundering, and other serious crimes.
In a statement to CBS 8, Anderson said that while this isn't his first attempt at bringing this forward, conditions at the border and a growing number of migrants entering the country could make this problem even worse.
“Unfortunately, when I first brought this item forward, my colleagues prevented a vote from occurring by refusing to grant me a ‘courtesy second’ on my motion. I’ve always been proud of my work. I do and have never shied away from a vote—so I wanted to allow my colleagues to have their vote put on the record. The County should not spend our limited resources to help convicted rapists, murderers, and human and drug traffickers attempt to circumvent federal immigration law.”
Anderson will present his plan to modify the Immigrant Rights Legal Defense Program to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The meeting begins at 9 a.m.
