On Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council unanimously voted to pass a special appropriation that will result in the creation of a legal fund for immigrants living in the area who face deportation from the US. The measure differs from a similar proposal first made last month by excluding those with multiple criminal convictions from accessing the $370,000 set up in the 2019 budget for providing legal aid.
The council was planning to use the funds that the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition use but withdrew from the proposition after a detailed list of further exclusions was added by the council this month. Hans Reimer, the president of the Montgomery County Council, said that governments have to make difficult choices.
The day before the vote, protestors came out to question the decision by the county to add several new crimes, including traffic violations, to the exclusions list. Montgomery County state’s attorney, John McCarthy, who initially helped with the addition of new crimes, also disputed the move. Council member, Marc Elrich, acknowledged that balancing public safety with low-income resident’s right to have access to legal representation in immigration was difficult to achieve.
The vote dissatisfied those on either side of the issue, with supporters believing too many immigrants will be cut off by the measure’s final version and opponents saying they did not believe in spending public money on those with no legal right to be in the country to begin with.