De Blasio and Council Agree, and Disagree, on Immigrants

"Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Council are still at odds over which poor immigrants facing deportation deserve some $26 million in taxpayers’ money for legal services. And a resolution may not come soon.

The mayor said he would refuse to fund legal services for those who have been convicted in the past five years of any of 170 serious crimes, preferring to use the money instead to reach more immigrants who do not have such criminal histories. The Council, which has underwritten a program that since 2013 has defended all indigent immigrants in deportation proceedings, vowed to continue it — without restrictions."

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