HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence #24 HARBOR
V' INSTITUTE
FOR IMMIGRANT&ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Attn: Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Mayor Pro Tem Jessie Lopez, Councilmember Thai Viet
Phan, Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez, Councilmember Phil Bacerra, Councilmember
Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, Councilmember David Penaloza.
Tuesday, January 17th, 2023
Santa Ana City Council
20 Civic Center Plaza,
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Re: Agenda Item #24 -Approving an Amendment to the Agreement with Immigrant
Defenders Law Center for Immigration Legal Defense Services for a Two-Year Term
Dear Mayor Valerie Amezcua and Santa Ana City Council Members,
On behalf of the Orange County Justice Fund (OCJF), the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and
Economic Justice, and VietRISE, we write to express concerns about Agenda Item #24 for
today's city council meeting regarding the two year agreement for immigration legal
services and urge you to 1) reconsider approving the amendment to the current agreement
with Immigrant Defenders Law Center and 2) establish a request for proposals process to
allow other local service providers to apply.
In 2021, our organizations urged the Santa Ana city council to expand the Immigrant Defense
Fund through its FY 2021-22 Budget. As a result, the city increased the fund from $200,000 to
$300,000 and directed city staff to make it a permanent recurring budget line item moving
forward. At the time, our coalition advocated for the expansion of the program to address unmet
needs and to ensure more residents were provided with immigration legal services, including
Vietnamese and other Asian communities that had not been served by the current provider.
Unfortunately, the unmet needs and issues we raised to the city council in 2021 have yet to be
addressed. As the city council considers this agenda item, we would like to raise the following
concerns:
• The additional $100,000 the city council allocated in 2021 was to ensure immigration
legal services and outreach reached AAPI communities, which continues to be a gap in
the program.
• The city council voted in 2021 to increase the funding of the program to $300,000 as a
recurring FY budget line item, but it does not seem the full amount was allocated for this
current FY 2022-23.
• The program needs to expand to the following immigration services that include
vulnerable communities: appellate immigration cases, U and T Visas, cases of residents
transferred from criminal to immigration custody, ICE check ins, and affirmative
assistance, etc.
We urge you to reconsider this agenda item and direct city staff to work with community
organizations to ensure this program truly provides access to legal representation for all Santa
Ana immigrant and refugee communities.
Sincerely,
The Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice
VietRISE
OC Justice Fund