California county OKs $3.5M to shield illegal aliens from Trump's deportation efforts

A California county board voted this week to invest $2.2 million in taxpayer funds to shield foreign nationals from President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts.

During the Alameda County Board of Supervisors' Tuesday meeting, members unanimously voted in favor of investing millions into providing legal services and other resources to the area's immigrant community. In February, the board allocated another $1.3 million to the Alameda County Public Defender Office's Immigration Unit.

'Pre-emptive legal services.'

Several residents spoke Tuesday during public comments, all of whom supported funding the programs. Community speakers urged the board members to protect foreign nationals, citing fear within the community over Trump's deportation efforts.

One resident, a member of the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America, told board members, "They [immigrants] desperately need our support in understanding their rights. And I applaud the board's work on establishing a forum for knowing your rights, but we need sustained support for resources for this really important and valuable community in our county."

Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, chairwoman of the committee, told the community during the meeting, "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."

In a post on social media, Fortunato Bas called the Alameda County community "diverse" and in need of "protection," Fox News Digital reported.

"The policies of the federal administration are causing fear among our residents," she wrote. "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 voted to allocate $50,000 toward Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach "to provide legal services and advocacy to marginalized immigrant communities."

Another $700,000 will go to Centro Legal de La Raza "to provide Rapid Response Hotline, Know Your Rights Training, pre-emptive legal services, and community volunteer network response coordination."

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the rapid response network "helps verify reported [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] activity, dispel misinformation and coordinate legal services for immigrants who are detained."

The county will give $500,000 to the Chinese Progressive Association, the fiscal sponsor of Trabajadores Unidos Workers United, "to provide resources and preparation to immigrant and refugee communities, including training, mutual aid, and neighborhood resources."

The California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice will receive $1 million to provide foreign nationals with legal services.

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