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Orozco, Norma From: Lisa Okamoto <Lisa@lmmDef.org> Sent: Monday, July 06, 2020 4:21 PM To: eComment Subject: Santa Ana City Council Meeting Agenda item 65B public comment Dear Santa Ana City Council, I am submitting public comment for Agenda item 65B in support of the renewal of the Deportation Defense Fund at its current level of $200,000 to continue providing protection to Santa Ana residents facing detention and deportation. My name is Lisa Okamoto, Directing Attorney at Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). Since entering into an agreement with Santa Ana in October of 2017, ImmDef moved quickly so that we can serve the community and became fully staffed by March 2018. At the time, Orange County had two immigration detention centers housed at Theo Lacy Detention Facility in Orange and John M. Musick Detention Facility in Irvine. In 2019, the two facilities closed and ImmDef focused our representation identifying Santa Ana residents detained in Adelanto, California and expanded our representation to non -detained residents who anxiously awaited their court hearings in downtown Los Angeles. We have worked closely with stakeholders in Orange County including Resilience OC, OC Justice Fund, Public Law Center, Catholic Charities, and Friends of Orange County to uphold the due process rights of Santa Ana residents. The urgency and need for representation has escalated with the COVID-19 pandemic. There are recent reports of ICE transferring detainees out of state with complete disregard to the risk of infection, as well as the first reported death of a person who was detained just south of us, at the Otay Mesa Detention Center. In response to this health crisis, ImmDef has worked alongside with other organizations to demand the release of our community members held at Adelanto. We most recently were able to release Miguel, a long-time green card holder and Santa Ana resident, who suffered for years with undiagnosed schizophrenia, and was detained at Adelanto. His mental health condition placed him at risk of possibly not being able to comply with required health measures instructed by the CDC. An ImmDef attorney identified the immediate psychological need and filed a legal defense that addressed his health conditions, and secured him a bond release. Miguel's family and the attorney worked tirelessly to set forth a medical plan to convince the immigration judge that Miguel would be supported in Santa Ana if she grants his release. He is now safely at home with his U.S. citizen sister and parents in Santa Ana. He would have remained in detention and possibly infected with this deadly virus without ImmDefs intervention that was only possible through the Santa Ana Immigration Defense Fund. Miguel is an example of other clients who have since been released and have been able to go home to Santa Ana. Due to the backlog at immigration courts, it is still too soon to show court grants and completed cases for those who are not detained. However, now is the time to invest in resources like this legal representation program that uphold humanity and due process, and not institutions that overpower our most vulnerable community members. Now is the time to allocate funds that focus on improving lives of our neighbors, rather than allow for more arrests, detention and death. We are conscious of what is currently taking place in our country and the death and pain that our black community members have suffered for centuries. The immigrant community have risen in solidarity to support the Black Lives Matter protests, at the risk of their own immigration status. If the city commits to the continuation of the Santa Ana Defense Fund, ImmDef can represent any Santa Ana residents who protested and got transferred to ICE because of their immigration status. We stand along with those who were arrested for raising their voices to support our African American community. If you or anyone you know was taken to ICE as a result of protesting due to immigration status,