Republican City Council at-large candidate Matt Wolfe is condemning the allocation of city funds in the most recent budget to pay for lawyers for illegal aliens in immigration court.

Mayor Jim Kenney announced that the city was partnering with the Vera Institute for Justice to split the cost of the project.

“This is outrageous. Philadelphia’s murder rate is way up and the public education system is failing our children,” Wolfe said. “How can our City Council think that it was a good idea to allocate money in the budget to pay for lawyers for illegal aliens? The city has so many needs and to spend taxpayer dollars in this way is not only stupid, but offensive. If Mayor Kenney and others on Council want to provide free legal defense for illegal aliens, let it come out of their paycheck.”

Wolfe has opposed the city’s sanctuary city status since it was announced by former Mayor Michael Nutter.

“Illegal aliens are rational. If they know that the city will not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) even if they commit crimes, they will be attracted here. This puts our safety at risk and burdens our taxpayers with paying for services that they will need. And now that they know they can have their legal bills paid by the city, even more will locate here,” he said. ••