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awita rsna wants to create iegar cietense rung rot immigration detainees lacing deportation... Page 2 of 4 <br />ByJESSICA KWONG I jkwong@scng.com I Orange 56 COMMENTS <br />County Register <br />PUBLISHED: May 17, 2017 at 5,34 pm I UPDATED: May 18, 20'17 at 8:31 am <br />SANTAANA — Immigration detainees facing deportation have no right to <br />government -appointed counsel, and Orange County lacks a nonprofit or <br />attorney devoted exclusively to providing legal defense for people in that <br />position, local law professors say. <br />And unlike Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Chicago, no city in <br />Orange County has started an Immigration legal defense fund. On Tuesday, <br />May 16, Santa Ana took a leap to become the first. <br />The city council on a 4-2 vote, with council members Jose Solorio and Juan <br />Villegas dissenting and Mayor Miguel Pulido absent, directed staff to pursue <br />providing money for a legal defense fund, partnering with immigrant <br />defenders and legal service providers, establishing a central location for <br />referral services, establishing a joint powers authority and seeking a support <br />grant. <br />"Santa Ana would be the first city in O.C. to provide public funds for <br />Immigrant legal defense," said Sameer Asher, a clinical professor of law at UC <br />Irvine School of Law. "Santa Ana as a city has been taking steps that really no <br />other entity in the county has been courageous enough to take. <br />Orange County's second-largest city in December became the first In the <br />county p sanctuary p U.S. immigration <br />coon to adopt t a sanctua ordinance, and hese,. out its..._,._., <br />and t-ustoms Enforcement contract at Santa Ana Jall to the point that the <br />federal agency terminated its detention agreement. <br />In February, the council directed staff to collaborate with legal service <br />providers and launch a coordinated imitative to provide access to legal <br />representation to Santa Ana residents at risk of removal who cannot afford an <br />attorney. <br />Pursuing a legal defense fund "is certainly a natural outgrowth of other steps <br />the city has taken," said Jennifer Koh, a law professor at the Western State <br />College of Law, which has helped Santa Ana get to this stage. <br />http://www,ocregister.com/2017/05/17/santa KIT8create-legal-defense-fund-for-im... 6/912017 <br />