Democrats on the Harris County Commissioners Court voted to approve more than $1 million in funding for nonprofits participating in the county’s Immigrant Legal Services Program—a taxpayer-funded initiative that provides deportation defense services to individuals facing removal from the United States.
With Republican Commissioner Tom Ramsey dissenting, the 4–1 vote allocates $1,344,751 to five organizations: BakerRipley, the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, Justice for All Immigrants, KIND Inc., and the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services.
The Immigrant Legal Services Program was launched in 2020 under Democrat County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who at the time said the effort was meant to provide legal representation to families in deportation proceedings. “When you have a family at a deportation hearing and they don’t have an attorney, they’re deported at a much higher rate, like 90 percent of the time, compared to like 5 percent of the time when they do have an attorney,” Hidalgo said.
To qualify, families must live in Harris County, be facing deportation, and earn below 80 percent of the area’s median family income.
Commissioner Rodney Ellis defended the program, framing it as a matter of justice and equity.
“As ICE raids ramp up and federal attacks target communities of color, it’s essential for Harris County to do everything we can to protect our residents, no matter their immigration status,” Ellis stated. “Having access to legal representation not only improves case outcomes but helps keep families together. In a county as diverse as ours, local government must step up to safeguard safety, justice, and the people we serve.”
Two individuals spoke against the funding during public comment: Barbara Denson and Aliza Dutt.
Denson, a civil advocate running for the State Board of Education in District 6, said, “I stand with Commissioner Tom Ramsey in opposing Harris County’s decision to spend over $1 million—taxpayer dollars—on legal defense for individuals who are in this country illegally. That money, our money, should be going to support law enforcement, maintain our roads and bridges, and handle our water issues, not to shield those who have broken our immigration laws.”
Dutt, the mayor of Piney Point and a candidate for Harris County judge, added, “I’m here today because our court is considering sending $1.3 million of your hard-earned money to radical activist groups to help illegal immigrants fight deportation. Our deputies are stretched thin, and families are being crushed by everyday living expenses. This is what is wrong with Harris County. Under Democrat leadership, they put illegal immigrants first and taxpayers last.”
The vote followed a heated exchange at Houston City Council the previous day, when Cesar Espinosa, DACA recipient and executive director of the immigrant-rights group FIEL Houston, was escorted out of chambers after confronting Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz and accusing him of lying about a recent immigration case.
Espinosa shouted, “Why do you lie? Chief, we’ve been trying to meet with you—you have yet to meet with us,” before being removed by police. His outburst came after Diaz pushed back on criticism from Espinosa and others over the handling of 15-year-old Emmanuel Gonzalez-Garcia, an autistic teenager who had gone missing while helping his mother sell fruit in northwest Houston.
When officers located the teen, they contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement after he identified himself as an unaccompanied minor. He was transferred to the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and later hospitalized for an appendectomy before being returned to custody. Espinosa had publicly accused city officials of “bowing down to Donald Trump” and working with ICE instead of issuing an Amber Alert or treating the incident as a missing-child case.
Later that same day, the 15th Court of Appeals ruled that Attorney General Ken Paxton may proceed with a lawsuit seeking to revoke FIEL’s nonprofit charter. Paxton described the organization as an “open borders group that illegally told people not to vote for President Trump.” He added, “Anti-American organizations like FIEL’s aim is to destroy our country and flood our nation with foreign invaders.”
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