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HARBOR <br /> V' INSTITUTE <br /> FOR IMMIGRANT&ECONOMIC JUSTICE <br /> Attn: Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Mayor Pro Tem Jessie Lopez, Councilmember Thai Viet <br /> Phan, Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez, Councilmember Phil Bacerra, Councilmember <br /> Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, Councilmember David Penaloza. <br /> Tuesday, January 17th, 2023 <br /> Santa Ana City Council <br /> 20 Civic Center Plaza, <br /> Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br /> Re: Agenda Item #24 -Approving an Amendment to the Agreement with Immigrant <br /> Defenders Law Center for Immigration Legal Defense Services for a Two-Year Term <br /> Dear Mayor Valerie Amezcua and Santa Ana City Council Members, <br /> On behalf of the Orange County Justice Fund (OCJF), the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and <br /> Economic Justice, and VietRISE, we write to express concerns about Agenda Item #24 for <br /> today's city council meeting regarding the two year agreement for immigration legal <br /> services and urge you to 1) reconsider approving the amendment to the current agreement <br /> with Immigrant Defenders Law Center and 2) establish a request for proposals process to <br /> allow other local service providers to apply. <br /> In 2021, our organizations urged the Santa Ana city council to expand the Immigrant Defense <br /> Fund through its FY 2021-22 Budget. As a result, the city increased the fund from $200,000 to <br /> $300,000 and directed city staff to make it a permanent recurring budget line item moving <br /> forward. At the time, our coalition advocated for the expansion of the program to address unmet <br /> needs and to ensure more residents were provided with immigration legal services, including <br /> Vietnamese and other Asian communities that had not been served by the current provider. <br /> Unfortunately, the unmet needs and issues we raised to the city council in 2021 have yet to be <br /> addressed. As the city council considers this agenda item, we would like to raise the following <br /> concerns: <br /> • The additional $100,000 the city council allocated in 2021 was to ensure immigration <br /> legal services and outreach reached AAPI communities, which continues to be a gap in <br /> the program. <br />