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UCIUniversity of School of Law <br />California, Irvine UCI Law Clinics <br />June 9, 2027 <br />RE: Support for City of Santa Inclusion in Vera Institute of Justice SAFE Cities Network <br />and Universal Legal Representation for Detained immigrants <br />To Whom It May Concern: <br />The University of California, Irvine School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic (IRC) is happy <br />to submit this letter in support of the City of Santa Ana's proposal for membership In the <br />SAFE Cities Network, a Vera Institute for Justice program designed to help establish and <br />expand universal legal representation for detained immigrants facing deportation. <br />Over the past several years, IRC students, working under close faculty supervision, have <br />provided direct representation to immigrants on matters ranging from deportation <br />defense and bond representation to workers' rights and civil and constitutional rights <br />enforcement In addition to direct representation, the Clinic partners with community <br />organizations on free legal clinics, outreach and education, and policy advocacy. <br />Particularly through our work with our community organizational partners, IRC has <br />developed expertise in representing some of the most vulnerable members of the <br />immigrant community. We are one of the few providers in Orange County that handles <br />complex deportation defense cases. Some of our cases Include: youth who were referred <br />to ICE by the Orange County Probation Department; residents erroneously alleged to <br />have gang ties, Immigrants needing post -conviction relief in criminal court; and LGBT <br />Immigrants seeking asylum and other forms of protection. Over the past seven (7) <br />semesters, we have also run a bond representation project, providing critical assistance <br />detained immigrants in four area detention centers, many of whom were subject to <br />prolonged mandatory detention, and securing release for over 20. <br />Unfortunately, IRC is not a high-volume service provider. We rely on university funding <br />and, consequently, devote a great amount of attention to the pedagogical benefits of the <br />work that we do. We train law students to work on some of the most challenging cases in <br />the field. An individual deportation defense case of the type that we handle can extend <br />over multiple years. Bond cases can extend over multiple months. <br />School of Law <br />UCI Law Clinics <br />PO Box 5479 <br />Irvine, CA 92616-5479 <br />20A-26 <br />(949) 824-6257 P <br />(949) 824-2747 F <br />www.law.uci.edu <br />