The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 today to expand the County’s Immigrant Legal Defense Program (ILDP), ensuring that unaccompanied immigrant children will not be forced to face deportation court alone after the Trump administration eliminates federal legal aid.

The “No Child Alone in Court” proposal — authored by Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer — expands the program she created in 2021 and closes a dangerous due process gap. With federal protections ending September 30, local action was the only way to ensure children in San Diego continue to have access to legal representation in immigration court.

“A fair day in court is impossible without a lawyer,” said Chair Lawson-Remer. “Expecting a child to navigate immigration court — in a language they don’t speak — against a federal prosecutor is not just unrealistic, it’s unjust. I created ILDP because local government must stand up for justice when Washington fails — and that’s exactly what we did today.”

At the press conference announcing the proposal, the public heard the story of Abrar, who became an unaccompanied minor at 15 after being separated from his family during the Kabul airport evacuation in 2021. “When I arrived in the U.S., I didn’t speak English, I didn’t know anyone, and I had no family with me. It was one of the hardest times of my life. But with the help of an attorney, I was able to seek protection, reunite with my family in San Diego, and begin rebuilding my life in safety,” Abrar wrote in a statement read at the event.

A National Model, Now Expanded

Launched by Lawson-Remer in 2021, ILDP was the first county-run legal defense program for immigrants on the southern border. It has since become a national model for protecting due process, especially as federal protections are rolled back. To date, ILDP has represented more than 3,000 San Diegans and delivered legal services at up to 80% lower cost than private attorneys. 

Why San Diego Stepped Up — Again

The Trump administration’s cuts to the federal Unaccompanied Children Program will end legal representation for 26,000 children on September 30 — including more than 300 in San Diego County. Without this local expansion, those children could be forced to represent themselves alone in court starting October 1.

Today’s vote helps ensure they won’t have to.

“When I launched ILDP, it was to make sure no one in San Diego would be denied justice just because they couldn’t afford it,” said Lawson-Remer. “Expanding that promise to unaccompanied children is the natural next step — and the moral one.”