"The six-month funding extension is designed to fortify the local safety net in a county where one in three residents is foreign-born and half of all children live in a mixed-status household, according to a letter from Bas and Márquez to the board recommending adoption. Enforcement data for what ICE refers to as the San Francisco "Area of Responsibility," which stretches from Kern County to Hawaii, Saipan and Guam and includes Alameda County, showed that immigration arrests doubled in early 2025."
"The Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership's rapid response hotline documented a 500% surge in monthly call volume since its relaunch earlier this year, receiving over 1,300 calls between March and October 2025. At Tuesday's meeting, ACILEP said during the weekday, one staffer currently mans the phone at a time, highlighting the group's limited capacity. The $3.57 million will support the county's three core partners in scaling their services:"
"ACILEP: The largest portion of the funding will support the expansion of the organization's Rapid Response Hotline to operate on weekends and ensure 24/7 coverage, alongside bolstering legal services and community volunteer network coordination. California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice: The funds will maintain removal defense capacity, offset filing fees for low-income clients and fund legal education and outreach-ensuring immigrants in removal proceedings have access to due process and legal protection."
A six-month funding extension fortifies the local safety net in a county where one in three residents is foreign-born and half of all children live in mixed-status households. Immigration arrests in the San Francisco Area of Responsibility doubled in early 2025, disproportionately impacting working-class families from Mexico, Guatemala, India, El Salvador and Honduras. The ACILEP rapid response hotline recorded a 500% monthly call volume surge since relaunch, receiving over 1,300 calls between March and October 2025 while operating with limited weekday staffing. The $3.57 million will expand hotline coverage, sustain removal defense, offset filing fees, fund legal education, and support mutual aid and organizing. The board also designated $50,000 for the Alameda County Public Defender's Office.
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