Efforts to expand legal aid to immigrants are growing in Orange County more than eight years after officials in Santa Ana – OC’s only sanctuary city – started plans to roll out a fund to help protect residents from deportation.
The fund in Santa Ana that started under President Donald Trump’s first administration could also see its counterpart launch in neighboring Costa Mesa as officials there are anticipated to discuss an immigration legal defense fund for their own residents.
At the same time, Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento along with community organizations and nonprofits are rolling out a $1.5 million fund dubbed the OC Liberty Fund, aimed at helping immigrant families navigate the legal system.
Sarmiento, who helped push for the defense fund in Santa Ana when he was on the council, said lawyers and judges are essential to keep people’s rights protected amid the widespread deportation sweeps, adding that immigrants with lawyers have a better chance in court.
“These legal defense funds and resources really do make a difference in whether a person is able to have due process extended to them,” he said in a Thursday phone interview.
“You have now Homeland Security, Border Patrol and ICE officers staged at some of the immigration courts throughout Southern California and here in Santa Ana, which I’ve personally seen, that are ready to detain immediately after a summary dismissal.”
Mai Nguyen Do, research and policy manager at the Harbor Institute, said legal defense funds are not just about supporting one group of people.
“It’s also about supporting the community more broadly, because when we invest in and protect the due process rights and the dignity of some people we’re really ensuring that due process and dignity are upheld for everyone,” Do said.
Soon another OC city might start its own legal aid fund.
Costa Mesa’s discussion on a legal defense fund was expected to take place at their meeting last week, but officials adjourned the meeting ahead of midnight, kicking the debate on the aid fund to their 6 pm meeting tonight.
They will also discuss joining or supporting a federal lawsuit challenging the ICE raids.
[Read: Costa Mesa to Consider Opposing Deportation Sweeps on Two Fronts]
Efforts to create immigration defense funds come at a time as many cities across the county grapple with tight budgets – often using a mix of one-time funding and reserves to patch budget holes.
[Read: Orange County Cities Scramble to Patch Budget Gaps]
It also comes at a time where some elected officials and residents have argued it’s best to keep a low profile amid the federal deportation sweeps and not respond to them.
Do said investing in a legal defense fund is investing in public safety.
“Ensuring that local resources go towards supporting immigrant and refugee communities is really vital to ensuring that local communities trust that their local government, including their local police department,” they said.
Legal aid is not just happening at the local level.
Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill allocating $25 million for legal groups to defend residents facing deportation and another that set aside $25 million for the state’s department of justice to fight legal battles against Trump’s administration.
Do said state investments like that are important, but come with restraints.
“Unfortunately, we are in a reality in which there aren’t enough immigration attorneys to meet the demand,” Do said.
“It’s really important to invest in elder support services and resources to ensure that we can have a more holistic approach to supporting those who are at risk of getting detained or deported.”
Efforts locally to support immigrants through the courts are starting to kick up just as the Supreme Court lifted a temporary restraining order barring federal agents from conducting roving deportation sweeps based on race, ethnicity or place of employment.
[Read: Could Widespread ICE Raids Come Back to Orange County?]
The $1.5 million OC Liberty Fund – a mix of public and private money – aims to increase access to legal representation for immigrants and refugees facing detention or deportation, teach them how to navigate the legal system and support know your rights clinics and prepare families if they get separated.
“That’s what these dollars are for,” Sarmiento said. “To kind of get those things in place that way, if something tragic happens, a family is separated and children are left without a parent or parents, they won’t become wards of the county, or they won’t be left alone.”
Sarmiento said the idea for the fund came from community organizations and said it was an investment in educating immigrants on the legal process
Do said the Harbor Institute was there when the idea for a fund first formed almost two years ago.
“It might be interpreted as being a response to this moment, which in some ways it is but the inception of the Liberty Fund came way before this moment, and so it’s really intended to be a long-term investment in building out the infrastructure we need to support immigrants and refugees in Orange County,” Do said.
Do added that is especially true throughout areas spanning Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana – where about 75% of all unrepresented immigration cases were.
A third of the funding comes from Sarmiento’s discretionary fund and the rest comes from private philanthropic groups like the Weingart Foundation and St. Joseph Fund.
“Immigrants and refugees have long been an essential part of what makes Orange County—and all Southern California—a vibrant, industrious, and beautiful place to call home,” said Joanna Jackson, President & CEO of Weingart Foundation in an Aug. 27 news release.
“By investing in trusted, community-led organizations, we’re helping ensure that immigrant families have access to the services and resources they need.”
Fund recipients include Access California Services, OC Rapid Response Network, the Harbor Institute, UC Irvine’s Immigrant Legal Clinic, Resilience OC, Public Law Center, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California and more.
The fund will be administered by Orange County Grantmakers and Charitable Ventures of OC.
Sarmiento said he hopes other philanthropic and private groups will continue to fund the initiative.
The liberty fund comes on the heels of Santa Ana officials renewing their own legal defense fund with Immigrant Defenders for a quarter of a million dollars.
[Read: Santa Ana Renews Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants; Will Costa Mesa Follow?]
“The City of Santa Ana believes in the right to security, equality and due process for all people in our community,” said Mayor Valerie Amezcua in a Aug. 26 news release.
“We are proud to continue our partnership with ImmDef to ensure that our residents have access to the legal services they need, regardless of their immigration status, income or other circumstances.”
Public dollars aren’t only being used towards supporting immigrants’ legal needs.
They’re also helping people get groceries and pay the rent during a time many immigrant families are staying home, afraid to get caught up in the deportation sweeps if they leave their house.
[Read: Struggling to Fund Aid for OC Families Impacted by ICE Sweeps]
Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Santa Ana have allocated hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to financially support immigrants impacted by the deportation sweeps.
Sarmiento said people need to understand that immigrants contribute to the economy.
“They are taxed,” he said. “There’s a net benefit that the state and the residents here in California receive from the immigrant community.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
