Dean Johnson Interviewed by KPCC on Legal Aid for Migrant Children
Dean Kevin R. Johnson was interviewed by Southern California Public Radio station KPCC on a California plan that would provide money for pro-bono legal assistance to recently arrived unaccompanied child migrants now living in the state. The influx of child migrants has overburdened pro-bono and low-cost providers of legal aid, Dean Johnson said.
"What's happened is people are fully taxed out in doing their charity work and the next thing you know, you get thousands more minors coming to this country needing legal help, and they don't have money to pay for legal help," Johnson said. "It is beyond what the public-interest sector and pro bono attorneys can handle." The state money should help firms that do pro-bono work hire some short-term staff, he added.
Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.