Alameda Supervisors increase aid for immigrant legal services

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to approve nearly $3.6 million in new funding for immigrant services, amid increased concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the Bay Area.

The resolution, introduced by Supervisors Nikki Fortunato Bas and Elisa Márquez, allocates $2 million  for the Alameda County Rapid Response line, a hotline to verify ICE sightings and connect people to immigrant legal services.

It also extends grants approved earlier this year, when the board gave $2.2 million in emergency funds to three community-based groups: Alameda County Immigrant Legal Education Partnership, Alameda County United in Defense of Immigrant Rights, and Alameda County Collaborative for Removal Defense. Tuesday’s vote extends those grants by six months. In addition, the Alameda County Public Defenders Immigration Unit will receive $50,000 to help cover immigration court fees, some of which have increased by nearly 1,000%.

Some supervisors expressed concern about extending the contracts without more information on how the previous money was spent. Though Oakland and Alameda County have not seen the same level of ICE activity as in such places as Los Angeles, federal immigration agents have conducted targeted raids in the area. There have been three known ICE arrests in East Oakland and one at the Alameda County Courthouse.

Since it relaunched earlier this year, the Rapid Response hotline has fielded more than 1,300 calls and provided legal services to over 170 people, according to Centro Legal de la Raza, a legal services agency which oversees the Rapid Response line. Monique Berlanga, executive director of Centro Legal de la Raza, said the additional funding will allow the organization to expand to weekends and add more staff during the busiest hours.

“We’re hoping to get a volunteer coordinator, more legal support, additional staff at the partner agencies, just building out the whole system,” Berlanga said.

The funding will come from the Measure W Essential Services Fund. Measure W was a 2020 ballot initiative that increased the county’s sales tax by half a percent from 9.25% to 9.75%. The tax increase has accrued $810 million to date, and is expected to raise $1.8 billion over the total 10-year period — most of which will be put toward homelessness and housing programs, according to the county administrator’s office. Supervisors in July decided to allocate about 20% of the funding to other general services.

“I think this is a very good use of the funding,” Bas said. “The Measure W 20% Essential Services Fund is our safety net fund. And clearly — when you see the number of people who are being detained and deported — having the resources for education and legal services is critically important.”

Last month, three Bay Area mayors, including Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, numerous community organizations, and the San Francisco Foundation philanthropy launched the Stand Together Bay Area Fund. The goal is to raise $10 million for direct assistance to affected immigrant families. Bas and Márquez both donated $50,000 from their offices. Supervisor David Haubert said Tuesday he would consider doing the same.