Sup. Barger Regarding Legal Services for Undocumented Immigrants

LOS ANGELES COUNTY —Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued the following statement regarding her vote to oppose a Board motion which will allocate millions of dollars in County funding in perpetuity for legal services for undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles County:

 

“This motion is an overreach by the County to unsuccessfully address the failures of our national immigration system – which is a glaring issue that the federal government must solve.

 

“While I support the need for legal representation for many undocumented individuals, especially those who came to this country as children, these legal services should be funded by the federal government and not by local tax dollars. However, through today’s motion, the County continues to allocate precious resources that should be going toward local policies such as mental health care, homelessness, or foster youth care. Until we can fully support these local issues with needed services, we cannot loosen our purse strings – especially to fund those services that are the responsibility of the federal government.

 

“Instead of continuing to throw local money toward what is currently an insurmountable crisis, we should work with our federal partners to address these difficult immigration issues once and for all.”