New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill just allocated $12 million in taxpayer money to pay for legal representation for illegal aliens fighting deportation. Not infrastructure. Not schools. Not property tax relief. Lawyers — for people who aren't supposed to be here in the first place.

You read that right. Twelve million dollars so folks who broke the law can hire attorneys to fight the consequences of breaking the law, all bankrolled by the people who actually follow the law. Only a Democrat could call that justice.

The announcement, as reported by Not the Bee, revealed that Sherrill and legislative leaders are funneling the cash through something called the Detention Deportation Defense Initiative — the DDDI, because government programs always need a cozy acronym. The $12 million is a new increase on top of $8 million previously allocated, bringing the total DDDI funding to a staggering $20.2 million.

Twenty million dollars. For immigration lawyers. In a state where property taxes already make people weep into their breakfast cereal.

New Jersey Senate President Nick Scutari justified the spending by clutching his pearls over conditions at Delaney Hall, a detention facility. His quote is a masterpiece of progressive delusion: "The treatment of the detainees at Delaney Hall is offensive to all of us who value human dignity. This emergency funding will provide support for legal services to protect their right to due process and access to fair hearings."

"Their right to due process." These are people who entered the country illegally, got caught, and are facing deportation. And New Jersey taxpayers are now footing the bill so they can contest it in court — with professional legal counsel, no less.

The money flows through the Office of New Americans — yes, that's a real government office — and supports what Sherrill's administration is calling the Rapid Legal Response Initiative. Rapid response, indeed. The moment ICE picks someone up, New Jersey has a taxpayer-funded attorney on speed dial.

Human Services Commissioner Stephen Cha is overseeing the rollout, because apparently New Jersey's "human services" now extend to people who aren't legally residents of New Jersey.

Let's do some quick math. New Jersey has roughly 6.2 million taxpayers. That $20.2 million total comes out to about $3.25 per taxpayer going directly to immigration defense attorneys. Doesn't sound like much? It is when you're already paying some of the highest state and local taxes in America and your roads still look like they were paved during the Roosevelt administration.

Every dollar spent lawyering up illegal aliens is a dollar not spent on schools, roads, cops, or the Garden State residents who are actually, you know, legal.

Governor Sherrill isn't protecting "human dignity." She's spending your money to obstruct federal law enforcement. And she's doing it with a smile and a press release.

New Jersey: where your tax dollars defend everyone except you.