Lucio Vasquez/ Houston Public Media

Harris County commissioners’ funding renewal of a 5-year-old immigration legal defense fund drew backlash and the ire of a county judge candidate.

Commissioners on Thursday approved the allocation of more than $1 million for legal defense services as part of the county’s Immigrant Legal Services Fund, aimed to improve due process in the federal immigration system. The program, which was first proposed by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in 2020, will deliver direct legal representation to immigrants in detention or facing the threat of deportation, according to county documents.

Aliza Dutt, the mayor of Piney Point Village and a Republican candidate in the 2026 race for county judge, spoke against the fund during a public comment period of the commiss

See Full Page