The Antelope Valley Times

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LA County leaders expand legal fund to include separated migrant children

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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday expanded a legal defense fund for immigrants accused of being in the country illegally to also be used to help children and parents who have been separated at the border by federal authorities.

“Los Angeles County has not stood idly by as this administration abuses children and their parents who are simply trying to escape poverty and violence,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis. “Family separation is cruel and a grave injustice for the more than 2,300 children who were physically torn away from their parents. … L.A. County will always stand with immigrants and asylum seekers.”

The L.A. Justice Fund is a public-private partnership created the County Board of Supervisors, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles City Council, California Community Foundation, and the Weingart Foundation. The fund has awarded $7.45 million to 17 Los Angeles based nonprofit legal service providers to provide representation for immigrants accused of being in the country illegally who are facing deportation.

The LA County Board of Supervisors voted for the fund to be used for children or parents separated at the border who have ties to the county.

For several weeks, the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy on undocumented immigrants — including the now-rescinded policy of separating children from their parents when they are apprehended at the Mexican border — has sparked an international outcry.

President Donald Trump agreed to rescind the separation part of the policy in late June. On Friday, the U.S. Justice Department filed papers in Los Angeles federal court seeking to have the families held together, indefinitely, in detention centers.

According to the most recent information from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, 104 children who were separated from their parents are currently in Los Angeles County or the greater Los Angeles area. No separated child is currently in the custody or care of the County of Los Angeles, according to Supervisor Solis.

The Board of Supervisors approved the expanded criteria on a 3-0 vote. The votes do not change the provision that the fund cannot go toward helping those accused of violent felonies.

Said Supervisor Janice Hahn: “No one in this country, let alone a small child, should be forced to defend themselves in court alone.”

Defendants in immigration cases are not guaranteed the right to counsel because they are considered civil, rather than criminal proceedings.

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Filed Under: Politics

27 comments for "LA County leaders expand legal fund to include separated migrant children"

  1. the administration is not abusing these children the ones who brought them here ILLEGALLY are the criminals here, also I didn’t hear this nonsense2 years ago when it was going on and had been for years. I know let LADCFS take them in they do such a great job. 60 years ago LA County was the envy of the world today it’s a third world [removed] and Trump has been in office 1 1/2 years so you should not blame him take a bow you feel good Democrat Socialists or Progressives or liberals or little brats who will get mommy government to make you do what I want. I gave at the office is now let the government do it well my uneducated friends national security ie: border security happens to be the main job of the federal government so quit wasting my tax dollars on invaders and start picking up after yourselves and do it in ENGLISH or is the English language much too complicated for your LA school education,odd I was educated in the LAUSD and speak English really well along with Spanish French a little Latin. Ask yourself does it do good or just feel good which is what you morally corrupt do gooders are concerned about does it feel good you people make me ill. I would be glad to trade to of you for one hard-working Mexican the problem is you will not leave and Mexico probably would not take you! Mexico is corrupt, not stupid.

  2. Before AV Hospital was redesigned near the front entrance, they whole family would camp out all day with all the kids and the dogs on the grass that was right in the front of the hospital on the east lawn. Everyday we would have to walk around the kids and dog crap just to walk into the hospital. Then they leave their crappy diapers in the parking lots and not think twice about it.
    I don’t eat at Jack in the Box anymore because they have buckets in the bathrooms so they can drop the toilet paper after wiping their asses in the bucket instead of in the toilets,
    No wonder the people of the AV are getting so sick all the time.

  3. you know what’s really sad about these immigrants they ruin the parks they ruin the beaches they ruin the Mountain Lakes
    They ruined property of others they’re filthy drunks every day is Cinco de Mayo plus they are so damn racist.
    I’ve been married into a Latin family for over 20 years don’t tell me different how they are

    • Hey, you are right, that would be what disgusting people would say. At least you admit you are one of them.

  4. This place is turning into a safe haven for cholos to act like punk gangsters and not worry about real consequences from mexico because their resting in the bosom of our tax dollars and the liberal politicians don’t care if California turns into the very place that the mexicans try to leave.

  5. I’m sick of them complaining all the time go back to your country you have a new president now you have no reason to be here anymore go there and start the crap you start here and see how fast you get locked up or shot

    • Yup, your less than a dollar taxation being spent on this fund to reunite families and help out struggling immigrants. Less than $8M collected from more than 10M populace.

      • IF their stupid parents would stay in Mexico then they wouldnt be separated. They ALL need to be shipped back and put up the wall and gun towers to protect us.

      • SO WHERE’S THE FUND FOR ALL THE CITIZENS CHILDREN WHO WERE SEPARATED FROM THEIR FAMILY WHEN THEIR HARD WORKING PARENTS WERE ARRESTED WHILE JUST TRYING TO MAKE A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR FAMILY WHY ARE THESE LAWBREAKERS SPECIAL? IF YOU GOT EXTRA MONEY TO GIVE AWAY SEND SOME MY WAY OR BETTER YET HIRE ME I DO THE JOBS AS LONG AS I’M PAID WHAT I’M WORTH WHICH IS FOR YOU AND I TO AGREE ON NOT SOME GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE TO TELL US WHAT THE JOB SHOULD PAY THAT WAY WE BOTH COME OUT BETTER THAT IS CALLED THE FREE MARKET WHICH THINKING LIKE YOURS HAS HELPED DESTROY,1984 AS A CARPENTER I COULD AFFORD TO BUY A HOUSE I HAD A HAND IN BUILDING NOT TODAY AND PART OF THE REASON WAGE SUPPRESSION BY AN OVER INFLATED WORKFORCE OF ILLEGALS ALONG WITH YOUR FRIENDS BIG GOVERNMENT NOT ONLY THAT BUT HOW MUCH TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION HAVE WE NOT MADE BECAUSE OF THE CHEAP LABOR PROVIDED BY ILLEGALS WHO NEEDS INNOVATION WHEN THERE IS CHEAP LABOR HELL HOMES COULD BE HALF THE PRICE JUST WITH SUPPLY THE SAME AND MINUS THE CHEAP LABOR ILLEGALS USE WITH INNOVATION AND SMALLER GOVERNMENT 100,000 DOLLAR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES MAYBE EVEN CHEAPER AND BUILT WELL, NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT OR AM I JUST FULL OF DUNG, MAYBE YOUR FAMILY WENT ALL IN IN THE BUGGYWHIP MARKET A 100 YEARS AGO AND THOUGHT IF ONLY GOVERNMENT WOULD HAVE OUTLAWED THE AUTOMOBILE COMPLETLY YOU WOULD BE THE MAYOR OF A HORSE [removed] CITY BETTER HORSE [removed] THAN THE HUMAN FECES YOU FEEL GOOD FOOLS HAVE WROUGHT UPON US, GUESS WHERE I WAS EDUCATED LAUSD BEFORE THE SOCIAL ENGINEERS GOT AHOLD OF THE SCHOOLS AND STARTED TURNING OUT UN THINKING SHEEPLE. I HOPE I DID NOT LOSE YOU I TRIED TO STAY AROUND 12TH GRADE COMPOSITION OF TODAY BUT LOOKS LIKE I AM CLOSER TO A PHD IN ENGLISH WHICH EQUATES TO A SOPHOMORE IN HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 1970s before dumbing down education to the lowest common denominator. As my DAD use to say use your head for more than a hat rack [removed].

      • struggling illegals you mean when I got arrested and sent to jail, for a victimless crime that is now at most a misdemeanor, my children were separated from me and I an American citizen born in Cali raised and lived in LA County for 60+years what did my kids get nothing but where is dad when will he be home no government fund set up just 200 bucks to get home on so I can report to some guy with a gun telling me what I can and can not do. The only gov. people my family saw were the ones trying to take from me what I had earned through hard work make me go to classes instead of working or spending time with my kids gov. aholes crashing the door with weapons drawn scaring my kids for what compliance check or a bogus dirty urine test and yes bogus dirty test are quite common with the corrections dept show up at your job that goes over real well with the boss pay restitution for what no victim nobody but me and my family lost anything but miss a payment and back to jail. But by all means these poor souls must have SPECIAL TREATMENT. why don’t you take a family into your home and pay for them out of your own pocket, after all how much could it cost or you want to spend other peoples money and use gov. to force the theft of my hard earned money by you so you can feel what better yet why dont you go to Mexico and help these hard working special people fix there [removed] of a country and leave me alone

  8. our city leaders are a bunch of idiots help the homeless people in the Vets here forget the immigrants you’re wasting all the taxpayer money on a bunch of crap
    now Mexico has a new president that said he will make changes so now you guys can all go back home go there and protest instead of protesting here about everything if you cared about your country that much that’s where your asses would be

    • VETS ONLY USE OUR HARD EARNED TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO BUY DRUGS AND GET HIGH OR ALCOHOLICS HELL NO

      • You must not know many vets. This one drinks Kool-Aid or iced tea and like to craft.

        • As an honest veteran I must confess I have stepped on a few feet here and there, but only out of inattentiveness, not malice.

  9. Mexico been screwing America for years. Remember people Americans are the ones paying for all these people to come in. We’re the ones getting screwed.

    • They can’t even properly inspect vehicles to find the massive amounts of illegal fireworks displayed in this valley alone.

    • This is California so of course it will come in the form of some kind of tax.

  12. This is not something that taxpayer dollars should go to. Why should taxes go towards an effort to defend people from laws that were put in place by a system funded by our taxes? Backwards! Maybe we should put more effort into making our defunct politicians change the laws instead of blindly checking D or R on every ballot