Opinion: Detained immigrants facing imminent deportation deserve legal help first

To the editor: Before deciding who should benefit from legal representation under locally funded deportation defense programs, we must first understand why this is needed. (“Offering lawyers to immigrants facing deportation is a worthwhile way to spend public money,” editorial, April 25)

Our Kafkaesque immigration system routinely expects immigrants to navigate a puzzling maze of rules and procedures without legal counsel, and thereby, creates an unconscionable risk of wrongly deporting people and tearing families apart.

Resources are limited, and we must prioritize, but let’s keep this need in mind.

President Trump has made it clear that those in detention are first in line for deportation. The vast majority have no violent background, and have U.S.-born family and winnable cases. Yet they have the most complex claims and least access to help.

People in detention, therefore, should be prioritized in a program accessible to all. And if we must prioritize further, the program should focus on those who have viable legal defenses.

Hector Villagra, San Gabriel

The writer is executive director of the ACLU of Southern California.

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