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Measure to bar state-funded legal services for certain noncitizens with felony convictions fails in committee
Summary
AB 1066, which sought to prohibit use of specified state immigration legal funds for noncitizens convicted of certain felonies, was debated and ultimately failed to advance out of the Human Services Committee after opponents warned it would restrict due process and core legal services.
Assemblymember Castillo presented AB 1066 as a measure intended to prevent California taxpayer funds from being used to provide legal services to noncitizens convicted of specified serious felonies. Castillo argued the bill targeted a narrow group and was not intended to restrict services for law‑abiding immigrants.
Opponents, including the California Immigrant Policy Center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, the ACLU California Action, and a coalition of immigrant‑legal service providers, testified in strong opposition. A representative of the California Immigrant Policy Center said the state’s immigration legal aid programs provide due process protections for children, students and families and warned that AB 1066 would “severely limit access to these core services” and align state policy with federal mass‑deportation agendas.
Committee debate included an exchange in which the author reiterated the bill targeted people with felony convictions and emphasized he was not “anti‑immigrant.” Several members pushed back, saying California’s policy should protect due process and that programs serve a wide range of civil and criminal legal needs beyond deportation defense. The committee recorded votes and the final committee action was failure; the clerk recorded the measure as failing after roll calls produced a tied or insufficient majority.
