A program that pays for legal and supportive services to prevent local undocumented immigrants from being deported was renewed for another year on April 9.
On a unanimous vote, Long Beach City Council approved contracts to allocate $1.4 million to the Long Beach Justice Fund, a 27% percent increase from last year.
Through mostly one-time allocations, the Justice Fund will now formally partner with Cambodian and Filipino organizations in the city. Services will also focus on preventative measures for undocumented residents rather than solely on removal defenses, which is the last step before someone is deported.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, funds will go to ÓRALE — who has advocated for and been involved in the Justice Fund since its inception — alongside the United Cambodian Community, The Filipino Migrant Center and Al Otro Lado.
Gaby Hernandez, executive director with Organizing Rooted in Abolition, Liberation and Empowerment (ÓRALE), showed up to the city council meeting for the eighth year in a row to advocate for these funds and the continuation of the Justice Fund. She remembers back in 2018 when the Justice Fund was first introduced and championed by then-councilmember, now-senator Lena Gonzalez and how different the conversations around it are now.
“In 2018, the conversation that took place at that time was, ‘Why are we providing money for legal services for immigrants?’ I think we really shifted the narrative to, ‘These folks are part of the community, the people that work at hotels and in the city,’” Hernandez said.
Since 2019, the Justice Fund has represented over 70 clients, including 16 children. It has also helped 18 residents obtain work permits and closed 15 cases, with 51 cases pending. City staff stressed that deportation cases can often take years, if not decades to resolve.
Long Beach’s Justice Fund is unique to other city-run immigrant defense programs, which usually only provide removal defenses. The Justice Fund also assists residents in obtaining U Visas, which grant nonimmigrant status to victims of crimes who have suffered physical or mental abuse; T Visas, which helps victims of trafficking; and VAWA applications for victims of domestic abuse.
The program also has a Community Oversight Committee that decides how funds will be spent, something Hernandez says sets Long Beach apart from other cities that have similar funds.
Contracts with the chosen organizations are as follows:
- Al Otro Lado: $480,000 for providing affirmative and appellate legal services
- ÓRALE: $122,500 for community connection services
- Filipino Migrant Center: $122,500 for community connection services
- United Cambodian Community: $75,000 for community connection services
Community Connection Services is when the local organizations involved in the Justice Fund provide support in a variety of ways to the person affected and their family, such as food services and other programs. These organizations will then refer the person in need of legal services to Al Otro Lado, an organization based in Los Angeles.
“We’ve been able to form solidarity with other immigrant communities … It’s important to note that immigrant communities come from different backgrounds and different countries, not just Latin-American countries,” Hernandez said. “Specifically here in Long Beach we have a big Filipino community, we have a big Cambodian community, so we joined forces with those folks to ensure that every community is taken care of and tapped into.”
Cambodian residents make up about 4% of Long Beach’s population, roughly 486,000 residents. According to the Long Beach Health Department, more than 20,000 Filipino residents live in Long Beach. According to the U.S. Census, 24.6% of Long Beach residents identified as immigrants.
The three Long Beach organizations will be meeting quarterly to understand each other’s needs and learn from one another, Hernandez said.
