Law school clinics at Seton Hall University and Rutgers University have each received $125,000 in taxpayer money for their students to represent illegal immigrants in court.

The $250,000 in funds come from a larger grant from the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, totaling $2.1 million, which will fund legal representation for New Jersey residents with immigration-related troubles, according to a news release.

This money could be better spent helping poor citizens with legal troubles as opposed to noncitizens who are illegally in the country. Taxpayers are funding the aid of those who are actively breaking the law.

A Rutgers Law announcement about the program said the “funding from the Governor is an important step in ensuring that all of New Jersey’s detained immigrants get the representation they deserve. We hope this is only the beginning.”

Students can also receive class credit for doing pro bono work for detained immigrants facing deportation or seeking asylum.

Hans von Spakovsky, a legal expert at the Heritage Foundation, criticized New Jersey’s priorities. “There are poor citizens in the state of New Jersey who can not afford legal representation in all kinds of everyday matters, from criminal cases to housing disputes, to child welfare issues,” he told Campus Reform. “Given the limited amount of money that the state provides, you would think that their number one priority ought to be helping citizens before they help illegal aliens.”

Alexander James is a contributor to Red Alert Politics and a freelance journalist.