The Alameda County Board of Supervisors in Oakland voted unanimously to allocate $2.2 million to protect illegal immigrants.
“I’m committed, and I believe Supervisor [Elisa] Marquez is also committed, to making sure the board, the public, has more information and that this work is truly effective in reaching every single person in this community that is potentially at risk,” Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, the chairwoman of the committee, said, as per Fox News.
“We are a diverse county, and our community needs protection. The policies of the federal administration are causing fear among our residents,” Fortunado Bas shared on social media. “The unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors demonstrates our county’s commitment to our immigrant and refugee communities, who will have more access to critical information, services, and legal support.”
The board approved the allocation of $50,000 to the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach for the purpose of “legal services and advocacy to marginalized immigrant communities,” the report noted. Up to $700,000 was approved to be used by Centro Legal de La Raza to create a Rapid Response Hotline. Another $500,000 was approved for use by the Trabajadores Unidos Workers United for “resources and preparation to immigrant and refugee communities, including training, mutual aid, and neighborhood resources.”
In February, the board approved $1.3 million to increase the capacity of the Alameda County Public Defender Office’s Immigration Unit, which provides legal services to illegal immigrants.
Riverside County voted in support of a similar resolution last month to reinforce its commitment to “safeguarding civil rights” for “law-abiding immigrants and refugees.”
