President Trump’s chilling promise to target migrants for mass deportation should have motivated California’s governor and Legislature to take substantive steps to protect our immigrant community. But Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed “immigrant support network” and $25-million fund for the state’s legal defense miss the mark.
The state’s leaders are overlooking our legal system’s single most important means of preventing mass deportations: public defenders.
The vast majority of deportations start when a noncitizen encounters law enforcement, often during a routine traffic stop or misdemeanor arrest. Even if prosecutors decline to charge such an individual with a crime, a simple detention can escalate to deportation proceedings. Early access to a public defender with adequate training and resources is therefore the first line of defense against mass deportations.
But California’s public defense system is in crisis because the state has declined to fund it at the county level. California simply does not have enough public defenders, and those we do have are overwhelmed by massive caseloads with limited resources.
Furthermore, few California public defender offices have immigration specialists on staff, leaving many unable to effectively navigate the complex issues involved. With an estimated 1.8 million people without proper documentation in California, this constitutes an immense shortage of crucial legal services.
While the state and federal constitutions guarantee a right to counsel, many defendants in California don’t meet their lawyers until days or even weeks after an arrest. But early access to an attorney is particularly vital to defend those targeted for deportation. Critical decisions are often made in the first hours or days of a case, when, guilty or not, people without access to a public defender are routinely pressured into waiving the right to counsel, incriminating themselves or accepting unjust plea bargains.
The proposed $25-million fund for state agencies to mount a legal defense against mass deportations will prove to be an empty gesture if there aren’t enough public defenders to represent people in a timely manner.
The state must immediately provide counties with more funding to hire public defenders, particularly those with immigration expertise. San Diego and San Francisco have excellent examples of public defender units focused on immigration that can serve as statewide models. Officials could take advantage of the Office of the State Public Defender’s Indigent Defense Improvement Division to create standards for immigration defense programs, grant funds to counties that meet them and collect data to assess the efficacy of their work.
In addition, the Legislature should follow the examples of Arizona and Florida by mandating that Californians have access to an attorney within 24 hours of an arrest. A bill introduced in the last session would have done so, but it died in committee. Early access to counsel not only has the capacity to prevent deportations but also has been shown to improve public safety, reduce incarceration and save counties money.
Before showering the attorney general’s office with money or creating a social services network, the governor and lawmakers must invest in the first line of defense for Californians who are most at risk of removal. The state’s immigrant communities need prompt, effective and robust legal representation now.
Cyn Yamashiro is a principal at the legal reform advocacy group the Wren Collective.
