(BAY CITY NEWS) -- A newly created unit of defense attorneys dedicated to representing immigrants faced with deportation began work in San Francisco's federal immigration courts Tuesday.

The new Immigration Unit in the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, one of only three such programs in the country, is the result of a deal negotiated by Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer in March.

Mayor Ed Lee agreed to authorize the use of $200,000 in salary savings in the public defender's budget to hire three deputy public defenders and a paralegal through the end of this year.

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