There’s Northern Virginia and then the rest of the state. That’s how some folks describe it—and they’re right. Leave the northern liberal enclaves and you’ll find normal Americans. You’ll find Republicans. You’ll be in Trump country. And like liberals elsewhere, the supervisors in Fairfax County, who dominate the board, are putting on their Trump resistance hats by creating a legal defense fund for illegal aliens who want to fight their deportations from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It’s going to start as a $200,000 pilot program (via WaPo):
Fairfax County is considering creating a taxpayer-funded legal defense fund for immigrants caught in deportation proceedings, part of a growing effort by local governments to counter the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
At a county Board of Supervisors budget hearing Wednesday, advocates argued that a proposed $200,000 pilot program aimed at assisting low-income immigrants — both undocumented and those in the country legally — would send a strong message that Virginia’s most populous jurisdiction doesn’t agree with the spike in immigration arrests that has spread fear in local communities.
“Fairfax has an opportunity to be a regional leader in ensuring that its immigrant residents have access to due process in our nation’s immigration courts,” Jose Magaña-Salgado, an immigration consultant with the Masa Group, told the supervisors.
Oh, and they’re not the only ones:
Prince George’s County has allocated about $200,000 a year to helping undocumented immigrants with legal costs related to deportation proceedings, while much smaller Arlington County has dedicated $100,000 toward services that include fighting deportation.
The District’s budget includes $900,000 for immigrant legal assistance that — to avoid a clash with Congress — is not related to deportation proceedings. The city of Baltimore has a $200,000 legal defense fund for deportation cases.
This money could be spent elsewhere, especially infrastructure. The roads in Fairfax certainly need maintenance. It could also be spent on law enforcement as well. It’s just absurd. No taxpayer money should be ever allocated to helping those who have broken federal immigration laws remain in this country. If they get caught, they get caught—and then deported. It’s yet another example of how far left the Democrats have gone on immigration.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member