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San Diego supervisors fail to expand immigrant legal defense program after mixed public reaction
Summary
A proposal to expand the county's Immigrant Legal Defense Program to non-detained residents and add a sliding-fee scale failed after the Board of Supervisors could not reach the required support. Supporters said the change would protect due process; opponents raised budget and public-safety concerns.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on April 22, 2025, failed to pass a motion to expand the county's Immigrant Legal Defense Program (ILDP) to non-detained residents, citing disagreements over eligibility and funding. The motion was made by Vice Chair Lawson Reimer and seconded by Supervisor Monica Montgomery Stepp; Supervisor Joel Anderson voted no and the measure did not carry.
The proposal would have extended legal representation to immigrants at risk of deportation even when they were not detained, prioritized cases with a pathway to legal relief, excluded individuals with serious criminal convictions, and added a sliding-scale fee so the program could reach more people while remaining within the program's existing $5,000,000 funding envelope. "Due process should not be optional," Vice Chair Lawson Reimer said on the record during the discussion.
The ILDP was launched by the board in 2022 and, according to remarks from Reimer, has provided representation to more than 2,500 people;…
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