05 Mar Richmond Allocates $1 Million in Support for Immigrants

 “The right thing right now is to — as leaders on the Richmond City Council — stand together against hate and racist policies,” council member Claudia Jimenez said at Tuesday’s meeting. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

While President Donald Trump addressed Congress on Tuesday again saying he plans to “complete the largest deportation operation in American history” and touting the bill that requires detention of undocumented residents accused of theft and violent crimes, Richmond decided to lend immigrants close to home $1 million in support. 

The Richmond City Council agreed to move forward with allocating $1 million from the city’s surplus fund for immigrant legal services, including a public education campaign. 

Trump, who called his wide-ranging policies on immigration, among others, “swift and unrelenting,” has made immigration a top priority. That has meant the Laken Riley Act, threats to federal funding for sanctuary cities, attempts to end birthright citizenship and more. 

“There is a lot of fear, a lot of miscommunication, a lot of things that our city needs to stand together and support our community,” said council member Claudia Jimenez. “The right thing right now is to — as leaders on the Richmond City Council — stand together against hate and racist policies.” 

The funding, proposed by Jimenez, Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda and council member Doria Robinson, will come from the city’s 2023-24 surplus fund, according to City Manager Shasa Curl. (While the accompanying agenda report refers to a 2024-25 surplus, Curl corrected the year before the council voted.) It also earmarks $10,000 to provide free municipal IDs to residents, building on a separate agenda item council member Soheila Bana brought forward that same night. 

The city will now choose a fiscal sponsor that will distribute funds to nonprofit organizations that will provide those services. The contract for that sponsor is set to come back at the April 15 meeting. 

Local organizations already supporting legal services for immigrants were among more than a dozen who spoke in support of the funding, saying Richmond’s immigrant community was left vulnerable by anti-immigrant policies on the federal level. 

“They are our fathers and mothers. They are our children, our neighbors and our friends. They are leaders in our Richmond community,” said Tomasa Espinoza, a member of Rising Juntos, in Spanish. “Legal services are essential to winning an immigration case, but these are scarce and that is why they need to be expanded at this time.”

Reimagine Richmond’s Marisol Cantu said the group has trained over 1,200 county residents in six weeks during Know Your Rights trainings. 

Reimagine Richmond, the RYSE Center, Contra Costa Health and Stand Together Contra Costa have also partnered with the West Contra Costa Unified School District to offer resources to families. 

Supervisor John Gioia, who represents Richmond on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, said there’s been an increasing demand for immigrant legal services since Trump took office. 

“This is about protecting families and protecting our economy,” said Gioia, referring to more than 30% of the county’s population being immigrants. “It is disrupting their families, it affects their desire to come in and get services, whether it is health services or social services.” 

Since Trump’s inauguration in January, the Stand Together Contra Costa hotline has increased by 330%, according to director Ali Saidi. 

A couple of speakers questioned how effective $1 million in funding would be against federal policies, if the funds should be used elsewhere and accountability surrounding the use of the funds. 

“There is always something else,” said Zepeda, who spoke of his father’s story as a previously undocumented immigrant. “Can we use it for roads? Yes, but imagine an empty road because our families and neighbors have all been taken.”  

Council member Jamelia Brown, who supported the proposal, also wondered how the funding would be used most effectively. That meant having data — “how do we track that people are not being left out?” she asked. 

Deported Richmond residents and how many undocumented residents are using current services are not tracked by the city, but Jimenez said she hopes the chosen sponsor is an experienced Richmond-based one that can choose nonprofits able to deliver on the funding’s goals. 

Nationally, federal data shows that over 22,500 people have been arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in the last month. 

“The data that we do have is the reaction from the community,” said Mayor Eduardo Martinez, mentioning the 23rd Street march and interfaith immigration vigil last month. “The community has activated their concerns … so we need to show people that we are supporting them in their need for existence in our society without fear.”