CORRESPONDENCE - 65D - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

IMMIGRANT DEFENDERS Law Center VeraINSTITUTE OF JUSTICE Attn: Mayor Miguel Pulido, Mayor Pro Tem Juan Villegas, Councilmember Vicente Sarmiento, Councilmember David Penaloza, Councilmember Jose Solorio, Councilmember Phil Bacerra, Councilmember Nelida Mendoza. Monday, July 6th, 2020 Santa Ana City Council 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Restore Full Funding For Santa Ana's Deportation Defense Fund for FY 2020-2021 Dear Mayor Miguel Pulido and Santa Ana City Council Members, On behalf of the Orange County Justice Fund (OCJF), Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), Vera Institute of Justice and the 24 organizations signed below, we urge you to restore full funding for the city's Deportation Defense Fund at the level of $200,000 in this FY 2020-21 budget. During the first reading of the city's budget on June 16th, the council approved $100,000, half of the budget for the program. The program provides critical immigration legal defense to Santa Ana residents facing detention and deportation, especially during this current global pandemic where immigrant detention centers are considered a public health crisis. This is not the time for the city council to cut funding for the program, but rather to ensure due process and access to legal representation for its immigrant residents. The fund is a life-saving resource for Santa Ana residents who are currently detained. Adelanto ICE Detention Center has confirmed COVID-19 cases, inadequate PPE for individuals who are detained, and used excessive force against immigrants. Immigrant Defenders Law Center has successfully gotten Santa Ana residents released on bond since the start of this pandemic. At the end of June of this year, ImmDef halted the removal proceedings of a Santa Ana legal permanent resident named Manuel* by winning his case and obtaining a relief called "cancellation of removal." Manuel had kidney issues and was severely at risk of having deadly consequences