While unveiling the City’s preliminary 2026 budget on July 24, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson also announced a slew of policy recommendations to protect the immigrant community.
The “Defending Our Long Beach Values Plan” comprises four policies that would bolster the current Long Beach Values Act through training City staff for dealing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) interactions, implementing disciplinary measures for City staff who violate the Values Act, requesting public records for legal measures and more.
Long Beach City Council still needs to discuss and approve the proposed policies before they can take effect.
These policies were made after engagement with multiple organizations including ÓRALE (Organizing Rooted in Abolition, Liberation and Empowerment), CHIRLA (The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights), CENTRO CHA, United Cambodian Community and the Filipino Migrant Center, Richardson said.
City Employees and Local Businesses
The first recommendation is to designate City-owned properties as secure locations that will have their own warrant review procedures and signage on doors and entryways. City staff will be trained on response protocols for if ICE attempts to enter these locations.
If city employees do not follow these measures, they can face suspensions, demotions or a dismissal from their position. Residents will be able to report employees who do not follow procedure through a complaint portal, and each department will be assigned Immigrant Affairs Liaisons.
Immigrant Affairs Liaisons will help report federal law enforcement activity within the city, educate employees on the new procedures and identify any program changes that can better help each department serve the immigrant community by eliminating barriers.
Local business associations and organizations will receive $150,000 and direction from the Economic Development Department to establish a Safe Place certification for businesses. These businesses will receive Know Your Rights training and educational materials on how to handle ICE interactions to protect the community.
Long Beach will also disqualify third party vendors from any future contract with the City if they violate the terms laid out in the Long Beach Values Act. This means that contractors and vendors are not allowed to share any personal information about residents with federal law enforcement.
Legal Action
The City will also work to obtain public records on federal enforcement activities in Long Beach , including the identities of individuals detained, reason(s) they were arrested or detained, and associated costs of the enforcement activity.
Long Beach will also pursue “legal remedies” and cost recovery for damages to city property, programs or revenues made by federal enforcement activities. To pursue this, the City Manager’s Office and city officials will develop a plan for a legal reserve for the City Attorney’s Office with the necessary materials and funds to legally protect residents.
Additional Proposed Funding
The budgetary portion of the mayor’s recommendations include $2.5 million from Measure A dollars and the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency for shallow rental subsidies, flexible homelessness prevention and other basic needs support for immigrants impacted “by recent federal policy actions.”
A separate $500,000 in immediate funds from this year’s budget will go towards Emergency Relief and Rapid Response Services. These funds will help with rental assistance, food and other basic needs for people who are unable to leave their homes or work due to the ongoing ICE raids and are more preventative than the $2.5 million fund. About $100,000 of this money will go towards mental health services for the same impacted people, through stipends for counseling and community-based support groups.
Another $600,000 will go to the Long Beach Justice Fund, bringing the total 2026 allocation to $1.85 million. The immigrant rights groups who use these funds to help the community with free legal defense and basic aid have been asking for a $2.2 million allocation for the past few months.
Most of these funds and policies still have to be approved by the city council. Long Beach’s budget is expected to be finalized and approved by late September, and budget hearings will take place each Tuesday beginning Aug. 5.
