Supervisors vote to include immigrant children in county’s legal services program

The county Board of Supervisors voted in favor Tuesday to include unaccompanied children in a county program that provides free legal counsel to immigrants in detention.

“A fair day in court is impossible without a lawyer,” Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who authored the proposal, said in a statement after the 4-1 vote. “Expecting a child to navigate immigration court — in a language they don’t speak — against a federal prosecutor is not just unrealistic, it’s unjust.”

Supervisor Joel Anderson cast the opposing vote.

“Out of all of California’s 58 counties, we are the only ones proposing this because those counties understand it’s a federal issue and I agree with them,” Anderson said in a statement after the vote.

The county launched the Immigrant Legal Defense Program in 2021 to provide counsel to detainees facing deportation. According to officials, the program has served 3,000 people to date. It has an annual budget of $5 million, and its expansion is not expected to require additional funding.

Supervisor Jim Desmond said that, although he does not support the program, he voted in favor of the proposal because it concerned children.

“The open borders created this crisis. San Diego County taxpayers should not be forced to fix it,” he said. “But these are kids, and they should not have to suffer alone or go through these proceedings alone.”

Lawson-Remer said in a board letter that without legal representation, “only 5 percent of people prevail in immigration court,” and that with an attorney, “the success rate rises to 66 percent.”

“That difference has kept families together, prevented children from being returned to danger, and upheld the principle that due process applies to everyone,” she added.

Officials said that federal funding for legal services for unaccompanied migrant children is set to end by the end of the month.

“When the federal administration retreats, our County will step forward to defend our residents and uphold the promise of justice for all. No child in San Diego will stand in court alone,” Lawson-Remer said.

Unaccompanied minors who arrive in the country are typically placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, until they can be released to a family member or sponsor. The county program will provide immigrant children with attorneys for their cases.

Lawson-Remer said that there has already been a local impact from the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict funding. She said that about 300 children in San Diego County lost their attorneys after federal contracts were cut this year.

For nearly 25 years, the nonprofit Casa Cornelia Law Center has provided free legal services to unaccompanied minors, detained and not detained. Executive Director Carmen Chávez explained in an interview that although unaccompanied immigrant children have the right to an attorney, the government is not required to provide it.

That’s when nonprofits and other organizations have stepped forward to offer representation, she said.

“When they do go to court, there is opposing counsel, there’s a government attorney sitting at another table, who is seasoned, who is knowledgeable about the process,” she said.

“So you can imagine a youngster having to go through that process, to go in front of the court, in front of a judge. It’s very intimidating. It’s very scary,” she continued. “And they don’t understand what the process is or what’s happening.”

During the Tuesday meeting, Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe suggested including organizations such as Casa Cornelia in the conversations as the program continues to develop.