Council KOs Blaz on immig lawyers

THE CITY COUNCIL moved to force Mayor de Blasio to offer city-funded lawyers to immigrants facing deportation even if they’re convicted of serious crimes, as it voted to pass a new $85.2 million budget Tuesday.

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) inserted legal language into the budget mandating that the city only consider income when determining who is eligible for $26 million earmarked for legal services for immigrants — meaning de Blasio could not exclude immigrants convicted of 170 serious crimes from the program, as he had vowed to do.

The last-minute maneuver caps a weekslong fight between de Blasio and Mark-Viverito over the money.

“It’s incomprehensible that Mayor de Blasio would turn his back on immigrant families and the city’s most vulnerable New Yorkers,” said Mark-Viverito’s spokeswoman Robin Levine.

Mark-Viverito refused to answer repeated questions as she left City Hall after the vote.

De Blasio’s office appeared to be blindsided by the move, and some Council members said they did not know the language was inserted until they arrived to cast their votes.

De Blasio could veto the condition, which the Council would then have a chance to override. He could also decline to spend the money altogether, but according to the Council, cannot legally spend the money in violation of the condition.