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EXHIBIT A <br />7 <br /> <br />January 31, 2021. This allows us to continue representing our clients without any disturbance in <br />representation due to funding or contract gaps. ImmDef has continued representation despite the end of <br />the contract in good faith that our partnership with the City of Santa Ana would continue. Information <br />regarding our community stakeholders is in the next answer to Question #7. <br />7) Please describe how your organization plans to grow and sustain your publicly funded program over <br />the next two years. Please include information about the organizations, coalitions, and/or public figures <br />in your jurisdiction who are supportive of the universal representation program and who are critical to <br />building public support for the program. Please also include information regarding how you will engage <br />clients, family members, and immigrant community members in your efforts to raise awareness and grow <br />your program and how impacted communities will become aware of your work. <br />The Santa Ana Deportation Defense Fund will benefit from the relationships and work we established <br />through the Santa Ana SAFE program. SAFE was the collective result of advocacy between local legal <br />service providers, including ImmDef, Orange County based-law schools, and other community <br />stakeholders. Together with the Vera Institute of Justice catalyst funds, the City of Santa Ana included an <br />additional $65,000, bringing the Year 1 grant total to $165,000. After being awarded the contract, ImmDef <br />remained active in supporting continued advocacy efforts for the SAFE program. This included <br />participation in City Council meetings, press conferences supporting universal representation, and a <br />written report to the City of Santa Ana, providing an update and review of the project at the end of Year <br />1. This advocacy resulted in a Year 2 award of $80,000 for the immigration defense legal fund, an increase <br />over the initial $65,000 provided by the City of Santa Ana. In Year 3 we entered a contract directly with <br />the City of Santa Ana for an amount of $180,000 with an additional $20,000 granted to cover the contract <br />gap period. <br />ImmDef has had the opportunity to work with one of the most vocal supporters on the Santa Ana City <br />Council, former Councilmember Vicente Sarmiento—now the elected Mayor. Mayor Sarmiento provided <br />valuable feedback on the issues most pressing for the City Council, including highlighting the number of <br />Santa Ana residents and families being served by this program and underscoring the benefits of universal <br />representation to all immigrants, with an emphasis on vulnerable populations such as veterans and DACA <br />recipients. ImmDef provided testimony to the City Council highlighting our work, including results from a <br />case of a mentally ill Santa Ana resident, who through our representation, obtained another chance to <br />present his case to the immigration court. What we believe was most impactful to the City Council was <br />the high number of Santa Ana residents being assisted through this project, demonstrating the <br />importance and need of this service in the community and the personal stories of the individual cases we <br />have represented. <br />ImmDef will continue to participate and speak at several press conferences and community forums, <br />including virtual and in-person, on detention and ICE enforcement in local communities in partnership <br />with Resilience OC, a local advocacy organization and key supporter of universal representation. ImmDef <br />also works in collaboration with other local OC legal service providers, including Public Law Center, <br />Catholic Charities, and community stakeholders like Friends of Orange County Detainees. ImmDef is one <br />of the organizations receiving referrals from the Orange County Deportation Defense Collaborative, a <br />forum for referrals of impacted immigrants to be shared and made to legal service partners. <br />For the future, ImmDef will continue to work with supporters and advocates and Resilience OC, OC Rapid <br />Response Network, and OC Justice Fund to ensure funding for universal representation in Santa Ana.