Could California get any more ridiculous? Wait, wait – I take that back. I don’t want the people now running the once-Golden State to take that as a challenge.
Instead, let me qualify that remark: When I say “California” in this case, I mean “California Democrats.” Yes, they have a supermajority in the state assembly, and yes, the impeccably coiffed Democrat Gavin Newsom remains in place as governor while he spends his spare time polishing up his presidential credentials. There are a lot of solid conservatives in California, some of whom are colleagues and friends of mine, and they are fighting the good fight against the nitwit ideas of California Democrats.
The latest piece of nitwittery out of Sacramento comes in the form of a bill that would force California taxpayers to foot the legal bills for illegal aliens in California who are facing deportation. Yes, you read that right; they want to force taxpayers to hire lawyers for people in the country illegally.
Illegal immigrants in California could soon have their lawyers paid for by taxpayers if a new bill proposed by Sacramento politicians goes through.
Starting next year, California would begin to fund legal representation for all unauthorized adults to fight their deportations under new legislation set to clear its first hurdle on Tuesday.
“Legal representation saves lives, protects civil liberties and keeps families together,” said bill author Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D). “This is a due process issue in California. People can lose their freedom, their family, their job and home through immigration proceedings.”
Yes, people can lose all of those things through immigration proceedings; that’s a pretty good argument for not coming into the country illegally. Also, let’s pause for one moment to consider the implications of Bonta’s remark: To have accumulated a family, a job, and a home in the USA implies the illegal alien in question has been here for some time – and has apparently made no effort to become a legal resident or a citizen.
We might take note that the author of this ridiculous bill, Democrat (of course) Mia Bonta (CA-18), is married to California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is currently being investigated for almost half a million in campaign finance shenanigans. RedState’s own Jennifer Van Laar brought us that story:
Jennifer writes:
This week, however, attention is returning to a long-running bribery scandal involving failed and former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and David and Andy Duong, a father-and-son team who operate recycling and pre-fab housing companies, amid new revelations about Attorney General Rob Bonta’s involvement.
These are the people with the keys to California’s cash drawer? Really?
As for the illegal aliens: They entered the USA illegally. They remain in the USA illegally. They do so knowingly. I have little sympathy for them if they get deported, especially when they were given the option to self-deport, with a free plane ticket and a cash payment into the bargain, and after that to re-enter the country legally.
To these people, we can only say, “There’s that bed you made. Lie in it.”
Here’s the onion:
It’s unclear yet how much the new bill would cost the state. For comparison, California’s existing program to represent undocumented youth was estimated to cost anywhere from $17.5 million to $77 million, the department had said.
If enacted, the legislation would establish a new “administrator,” most likely within the social services department, that develops regulations and a “phase-in” implementation plan. Criteria would be established for private attorneys seeking to contract with the state for immigration services, and there would be grants for community organizations for outreach to affected immigrants.
Has anyone informed the California assembly that the state is facing budget deficits of roughly $18 billion, according to some estimates? That’s “billion,” as in a “B” followed by a “illion.”
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So, another multi-million dollar social program, another “administrator” drawing a fat salary from the taxpayers, another big hit on California’s budget shortfall, and another handout to people who have no business being in the United States in the first place.
It’s a shame that California has gone down this road. I have stayed and worked in California for extended periods, most notably almost two years in the northern suburbs of LA (Valencia) and a year in Silicon Valley. I see the appeal of this beautiful place; I really do. But this kind of nonsense needs to be tamped down. It’s a safe bet that California’s taxpayers have had enough.
