Summary: The thousands of undocumented children in the state of California will be receiving free legal aid after a $3 million bill was signed by Governor Brown.
A new state law in California will provide children in the state who entered the United States illegally millions of dollars in free legal aid, according to The Washington Post.
A measure was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown this weekend that provides nonprofits with $3 million. The nonprofits provide undocumented immigrant children with free legal services.
“Helping these young people navigate our legal system is the decent thing to do, and it’s consistent with the progressive spirit of California,” Brown said when he introduced the bill in August in front of members of the Senate, Assembly and the Latino Legislative Caucus.
The law also makes it easier for state courts to provide the basis for the status needed to expedite naturalization.
Some 43,000 undocumented children were released to sponsors between January 1 and the end of August. The children were waiting for legal processing. In California, sponsors received 4,680 undocumented children. This is more than one in 10 of the total for the country. The sponsors are usually relatives of the children and the majority of it occurs in Los Angeles County for the state.
Close to 3 out of every 4 undocumented children who cross into the country in the Southwest come from Honduras, El Salvador or Guatemala.