Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, is joining dozens of her colleagues to fight federal budget cuts to a program that helps keep illegal immigrant criminals in jail.

The Department of Justice’s slice money from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program is “reckless and dangerous,” Capps said.

The program helps offset a portion of the cost of incarcerating criminals whose immigration status is unknown or who are not listed in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement database.

Sheriffs Ian Parkinson of San Luis Obispo County and Bill Brown of Santa Barbara County also have defended the program.

Capps and 66 other members of the House of Representatives have written U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., asking him to reconsider his decision to discontinue payments to local governments.