19 Sep Local Cities, Counties Launch Regional Fund for Families Impacted by ICE Raids

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, at lectern, and other local leaders of various Bay Area cities and counties attend at a press conference announcing the creation of a regional fund to aid people impacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday in San Francisco. (Alise Maripuu / Bay City News)

By Alise Maripuu
Bay City News

Dozens of local leaders from across the Bay Area came together Friday in San Francisco to announce the creation of a regional fund dedicated to helping families impacted by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

Mayors and officials from various cities throughout the region, including Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, and San Jose Mayor Mahan, spoke at an event to launch the “Stand Together Bay Area Fund.”

“I’m proud that our cities and counties are standing together to support San Francisco values and Bay Area values,” Lurie said. “This fund will help keep a roof over people’s heads. It will put food on the table. It will ease the burden for people who are being targeted, and it will send a clear message that San Francisco and the Bay Area will not turn our backs on our neighbors.”

Under President Donald Trump’s administration, mass deportations and detentions by ICE of immigrants lacking permanent legal status have ramped up throughout the country, including within the Bay Area.

The presence of ICE has stoked fears among the immigrant community and people of color, with some residents skipping work, school, and other events because of concerns about being targeted by immigration authorities.

“I’ve seen the fear gripping our community firsthand,” Mahan said. “At town halls and community meetings, I’ve heard from parents who are afraid to walk their children to school, neighbors afraid to go to the grocery store, afraid to go to work, residents afraid that even if they are here legally, they could still be targeted because of the color of their skin or the language they speak.”

The fund was set up by the San Francisco Foundation, a philanthropic organization that on its website says its mission “is to mobilize resources and act as a catalyst for change to build strong communities, foster civic leadership, and promote philanthropy.”

So far, the fund has raised about $500,000, said San Francisco Foundation CEO Fred Blackwell. Its goal is to reach $10 million.

The Stand Together Bay Area Fund will pool private donations from corporations, individuals, faith groups and philanthropists to support nonprofits that work to aid immigrant communities. The funds are intended to be used as direct emergency aid for families affected by ICE raids, detentions and deportations to cover expenses such as rent, food costs, and other basic living expenses.

Other local leaders at the event included San Mateo County supervisors Lisa Gauthier and Noelia Corzo.

Gauthier represents District 4 , an area with a high immigrant population that encompasses Redwood City and East Palo Alto. She has heard from residents about the fears and impacts of increased immigration enforcement, which is why she wanted to stand in solidarity with fellow regional officials.

“We see that people are staying home and not showing up for important events. We want them to know we stand behind them,” she said in an interview. “Whatever we can do to help support that effort, we’re going to do it.”

ICE agents have detained people suspected of being undocumented or foreign-born at immigration courts, homes, hospitals, and ICE field offices throughout the Bay Area and country, according to the Deportation Data Project, which obtains and shares datasets on U.S. immigration enforcement.

Across the six Bay Area counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin, one-third of residents are foreign-born. About 6.5% of the combined total population in these counties are undocumented immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute and the Public Policy Institute of California.

Although several Bay Area cities and counties have enacted sanctuary jurisdiction ordinances to prohibit the use of local resources to assist in immigration enforcement , ICE has still been able to conduct detentions without the help of local law enforcement.

Setting up the Stand Together Bay Area Fund, supporters said, is one of the ways that local governments can help ameliorate the consequences and effects of ICE operations from the federal government.

“Together, we are sending a clear message the Bay Area stands with immigrant families,” Lee said. “We will answer fear with solidarity, turn division into unity and meet hardships with real support.”

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