65A - IMMIGRATION DEFENSE OPTIONS

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Immigration Legal Defense Options May 16, 2017 Page 2 Orange County had 247,500 undocumented immigrants .2 In response to the City Council's direction of February 21, 2017, the law professors who direct the Western State College of Law Immigration Clinic and the UCI Law School Immigrant Rights Clinic provided the City Attorney's Office with a memo outlining information on this subject and suggestions for follow -up. The professors pointed to statistics which indicate that 68% of immigrants are unrepresented in immigration cases.3 Unrepresented detained immigrants are able to demonstrate their eligibility for relief from deportation only 6% of the time, while those with lawyers succeed more than five times as often .4 These statistics make it clear that there is a significant benefit to having an attorney during immigration proceedings. Currently, the law provides for guaranteed legal representation only in criminal cases where the defendant is indigent. While immigration proceedings are administrative in nature, the consequences can be equally serious. In furtherance of the Council's direction, the City Attorney hosted a meeting on March 8, 2017 at the City with legal service providers, private stakeholders, and City Staff. The private stakeholders that participated in the meeting were from Resilience OC, Orange County Immigrant Youth United, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Orange County. The legal service providers that participated in the meeting were from the Western State College of Law Immigration Clinic, the UCI Law School Immigrant Rights Clinic, the Public Law Center, and two lawyers from private law firms with particular knowledge of the legal services available to indigent individuals subject to removal. During the meeting, a valuable exchange of ideas and a fruitful discussion took place. As a result of the March 8th meeting and subsequent information gathering, the following options and recommendations regarding the potential framework for providing access to legal representation as discussed in City Council Agenda Item 85A from February 21, 2017. 1. The City Should Take Actions That Will Reduce Fear in the Community Community stakeholders in conjunction with City staff noted that the residents of Santa Ana have fear that often inhibits them from seeking assistance for many issues, not the least of which are immigration related matters. Some of this fear may be a result of misinformation about immigration enforcement activities in the area and whether city police officers are extensions of federal immigration officers. Community members feel strongly that addressing these fears by way of education about an individual's rights is important, including the possibility of a "know your rights" clinic of the type sponsored by groups like the ACLU. Community members and City Staff noted that fear can have a broad effect on the community, including lack of education for certain youth that are kept at home by their parents due to immigration related fears. A downturn in enrollment and /or attendance, affects the local school districts and community college districts and results in revenue loss, which can affect services. Fear can also cause undocumented z Public Policy Institute of California, Just the Facts, "Undocumented Immigrants in California." March 2017. ht tp:// www. ppic. org/main/publication_show.asp ?i =818 s See California Coalition for Universal Representation, California's Due Process Crisis: Access to Legal Counsel for Detained Immigrants (June 2016), available at hitps://www.nilc.orzlwn- contents /unloads/ 2016 /06/ access -to- counsel - Calif- coalition- report- 2016- 06.ndf 'Id, note 3 at 7. 65A -2