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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - #27�.:. C� HARBORIt C i ' INSTITUTE p J� ` FOR IMMIGRANT & ECONOMIC JUSTICE Attn: Mayor Vicente Sarmiento, Mayor Pro Tem David Penaloza, Councilmember Thai Viet Phan, Councilmember Jessie Lopez, Councilmember Phil Bacerra, Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, Councilmember Nelida Mendoza. Tuesday, July 6th, 2021 Santa Ana City Council 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Economic Recovery for Immigrant and Refugee Working Families in Santa Ana Dear Mayor Vicente Sarmiento and Santa Ana City Council Members, On behalf of Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO), VietRISE and the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice, the Orange County Mobile Home Residents Coalition, and the 9 organizations signed below, we urge you to provide $12,000,000 in direct economic stimulus assistance to Santa Ana residents, including immigrant and refugee working families most impacted by COVID-19 using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The legislative intent of the American Rescue Plan Act is to provide crucial support for families disproportionately affected by the pandemic, especially those from racial/ethnic backgrounds that have historically experienced systemic injustice. According to the state's Healthy Places Index, Santa Ana has two of the four hardest hit zip codes by COVID-19. These zip codes include many families that were living at or below the poverty line prior to the pandemic, whose systemic conditions were only made worse by the virus and its health and economic consequences. Residents reported not being able to pay rent, healthcare, bills, or groceries, or having to choose one over the other. The Orange County Healthcare Agency analysis of infection rate by zip code found that "the highest rates of cases are in lower socio-economic areas of the county, including Zip codes in most of Santa Ana and western Anaheim." Santa Ana, along with Anaheim, are home to 20 percent of the county's population but nearly half of all residents in the county who tested positive for the virus. According to the Voice of OC, "Disease experts note Santa Ana residents tend to have jobs with a higher risk of getting coronavirus, and could have gotten infected at workplaces anywhere in the county." Many Santa Ana residents who were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and tested positive for the virus were working in lower -wage jobs and jobs where they could not socially distance themselves. Many of these residents were and still remain essential workers, providing us with groceries throughout the pandemic, providing healthcare to others, and more. Moreover, many of these residents are essential workers who are undocumented who have been excluded from federal stimulus payments because of their immigration status. Although some have received some funding from the state through the Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants (DRAI) program, this amount did not match the stimulus payments that citizens in the city received from the federal government. In addition, many undocumented residents did not apply for this program due to the well -documented history of government retaliation toward undocumented immigrants who seek public programs - for example, the most recent Public Charge issue spearheaded by former president Trump. Under the current Revive Santa Ana Spending Plan, $24.6 million have been allocated to providing direct assistance programs, including resident stimulus payments. As vaccination rates continue to increase and positivity rates decrease, residents are still significantly impacted by the economic devastation caused by COVID-19. Many still have to pay backlogged rent, continue to support their children, pay for healthcare costs, bills, groceries, funeral costs, and more. Santa Ana is poised with the rare opportunity to provide a massive economic stimulus directly to its residents. By providing direct economic assistance to residents, Santa Ana as a city will be joining a small number of local non-profit organizations that have been able to provide small financial amounts to residents. However, by allocating this money directly from the city, Santa Ana will be able to provide more funding to more residents and families, partner with local nonprofits to efficiently distribute this funding, provide an economic stimulus to Santa Ana businesses by ensuring residents use these funds within Santa Ana's businesses and grocers, and ensure that the city plays a direct role in helping residents recover from the health and economic devastation of COVID-19. We urge the Santa Ana City Council to prioritize residents' economic recovery and health b� 1. Allocating $12,000,000 indirect economic stimulus payments to the hardest -hit and the lowest -income residents through a voucher or debit card redeemable only at Santa Ana businesses to assist families most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to provide an economic boost to our hard-hit, local businesses a. Provide economic stimulus payments to undocumented residents through non-profit/city partnerships and allocate resources to ensure effecive outreach to these residents b. Provide multiple languages including Spanish, Vietnamese, Khmer, and more through the application and outreach efforts to ensure all residents in the city receive information about this stimulus payment 2. Create a Santa Ana Health Care Agency to prioritize and better serve our residents' health care needs. During this pandemic it was clear the County of Orange is not equipped to address the public health needs of our community, as evident by the challenges and slow response during its allocation of COVID-19 tests and vaccinations We urge you to use this rare opportunity and be a county leader in directly supporting residents' recovery from the pandemic by providing economic stimulus for Santa Ana immigrant and refugee communities. If you have any questions please contact Miguel Hernandez at miguel@occcopico.org. Sincerely the undersigned organizations: Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO) VietRISE Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice Orange County Mobile Home Residents Coalition CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) Orange County Justice Fund Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD) Corazon de Mariposas Tenayuca Labor Project El Centro Cultural de Mexico Immigrant Defenders Law Center Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) Public Law Center July 6, 2021 Mayor Sarmiento and the City Council Members City of Santa Ana 22 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 RE: Agenda Item #27 Approve the Revive Santa Ana Spending Plan Dear Mayor Sarmiento and City Councilmembers, I write on behalf of Chispa to express our support for the implementation of a local stimulus check to low income residents in the City of Santa Ana using the American Rescue Plan allocation received by the federal government. As an organization by and for young Latinxs, this proposal is deeply personal to us and our members due to the economic support this implementation would have on undocumented residents who received little or no aid from the government during the pandemic. The federal government provided stimlus to millions of Americans amidst the pandemic, but these failed to include and provide aid to undocumented immigrants. In addition, the State of California provided the Golden State stimulus to undocumented residents, but this excluded the millions of undocumented residents who do not have an Individual Taxpayer Identifcation Number (ITIN). These programs don't provide relief to all undocumented immigrants, many of whom still face the severe economic impact from COVID-19 including financial resources for rent, food, and basic necessities. Equity and economic justice are at the heart of this proposal. The City of Santa Ana has the highest number of undocumented residents and workers in the county. Despite their contributions. these communities have been excluded from economic relief. It is pass time the City of Santa Ana provide relief and support to their undocumented community amidst the pandemic. We urge you to consider and pass this proposal to provide economic equity and justice for the city's most impacted residents. Sincerely, Boomer Vicente Policy Director Chispa