D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) often touts her administration’s immigrant legal-aid fund when activists say she hasn’t done enough to protect undocumented residents from President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The mayor’s office has awarded $1 million to nonprofit organizations that have used the money to file dozens of asylum and visa applications, hold informational sessions about immigration law and train attorneys to offer pro bono help to immigrants.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reported hundreds of arrests in the Washington region in recent months, although statistics were not readily available for immigrants who specifically were living in the District. But unlike other cities that have created immigrant defense funds since Trump took office, Washington does not use tax dollars to help undocumented adults once they are detained by federal authorities and face deportation.
