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Regular-Law & Justice Services # 47.
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| Board of Supervisors |
Public Defender |
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| Subject |
| Adopt budget resolution to appropriate $50,000 from general fund contingency to fund a one-year contract with an outside immigration attorney or a one-year limited term Public Defender II. (General fund impact $50,000) (4/5 vote required) (Olson) |
| Recommended Action |
| Adopt budget resolution to appropriate $50,000 from general fund contingency to fund a one-year contract with an outside immigration attorney or a one-year limited term Public Defender II. |
| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
Operational Excellence
Thriving Residents
Safe Communities |
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
Recognizing the inequities of the immigration system, in fiscal year 2018-2019 the Yolo County Board of Supervisors voted to allocate $100,000 to be used to help immigrants from the community who were in need of legal services.
Supervisors Saylor and Provenza, who originally advocated for the appropriation, met thereafter with representatives of the UC Davis Law School’s Immigration Law Clinic, Legal Aid of Northern California, the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF), and the Yolo County Public Defender’s Office to discuss how to put the $100,000 to its best use. The non-profit organizations unanimously concluded that the best use of the money would be to expand the legal services available through the Public Defender’s Office.
In response, the Public Defender’s Office discussed with the Supervisors options for expanding legal services to immigrants facing deportation, with a special focus on detained individuals. Ideas included partnering with a non-profit organization to host naturalization and DACA workshops and paying application fees for immigrants applying for relief. However, none of the latter strategies met the needs of detained immigrants facing deportation. All parties agreed that the highest unmet need of providing legal representation to detained immigrants could be best met by hiring an attorney to provide immigration defense services.
Immigration defense means representing clients that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has identified for removal proceedings. Removal proceedings may be initiated because the immigrant is undocumented or because the immigrant’s lawful presence is believed to be in jeopardy because of circumstances such as a criminal conviction. Immigrants that find themselves in removal proceedings are at their most vulnerable and are often in custody. Immigrants in removal proceedings may have a defense against removal, that an attorney specializing in removal defense would present to the court to prevent the immigrant’s removal from the country.
Embedding immigration removal defense services in a public defender’s office makes sense as part of a holistic defense strategy, allowing the office to follow its clients through the immigration system. This strategy flows naturally from the idea that criminal convictions have consequences far beyond the courthouse and working to help clients remain in the communities in which they live and work is central to keeping families together and improving the community as a whole.
The cost of an attorney to provide immigration removal defense is estimated to be $150,000, all inclusive. Staff recommends that the $100,000 already allocated in fiscal year 2018-2019 be encumbered for this purpose. Staff also recommends an additional $50,000 would be allocated from the county’s contingency fund, for a total of $150,000, to fund a one-year contract with an outside immigration attorney or a one-year limited term Public Defender II (Att. A). The goal would be to pilot an immigration defense concept, gather data, and seek outside ongoing funding as it is likely unsustainable to rely on the general fund to absorb this cost in future years. Diligent efforts will be made to sustain this position through foundation or grant funding in future years. For instance, Vera Institute of Justice’s Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Network is currently considering a proposal to offer the Yolo County Public Defender’s Office “Partner Status” to support removal defense work. While Partner Status does not necessarily provide funding, such partnerships could be looked upon to sustain this immigration work in subsequent years. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
| County Administrator's Office, Supervisors Saylor and Provenza. |
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| Fiscal Impact |
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| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
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Explanation (Expenditure and/or Revenue) |
| Further explanation as needed: |
| This action would require a $50,000 appropriation from contingency for a total appropriation of $150,000 to the Public Defender to fund a one-year contract with an outside immigration attorney or a one-year limited term Public Defender II.. |
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