The Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously authorized a further $3.5 million towards immigrant and refugee protection on Wednesday to assist the enlargement of the county’s fast response hotline, deportation protection, authorized companies and “Know Your Rights” coaching packages.
The funding represents a doubling down of assets to defend Alameda County’s sizable immigrant and refugee inhabitants amid escalating Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations nationally in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, along with latest calls by President Donald Trump to ship the Nationwide Guard into the Bay Space.
“By reinforcing our rapid response and legal service network, we are charting a path towards establishing an Alameda County Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs to ensure we have the necessary infrastructure to protect and serve our community, regardless of who occupies the White House,” stated Supervisor Elisa Márquez, Chair of the Public Safety Committee.
In June, representatives for the county’s immigration hotline advised the Alameda County For All committee in regards to the limitations of the group in responding to the quickly altering wants of the county’s immigrants. Monique Juanita Berlanga, a consultant for the Alameda County Immigration, Authorized and Instructional Partnership, stated the hotline was solely funded to function from 6 a.m. to six p.m. Monday by means of Friday; nevertheless, workers had been stretched to work on the weekend amid ICE operations in Los Angeles.
“At this point, we are not necessarily sure that our recommendation would be to commit to a 24/7 ongoing call line,” Juanita Berlanga stated, “but what we do need is additional funding for flexible funding to allow us to adapt with enforcement patterns and changing community needs as they come.”
Within the appropriation on Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors tapped on Measure W, a poll measure initially billed as funding for homelessness, to offer funding to numerous immigration teams. The Oakland-based nonprofit Centro Authorized de la Raza for preemptive authorized companies, “Know Your Rights” trainings and a Speedy Response Hotline. Trabajadores Unidos Employees United was given a further $541,375 to organize immigrant and refugee communities with coaching and mutual support. And the California Collaborative for Immigrant Rights obtained a supplemental $1 million for authorized companies.
“As Trump escalates his mass deportation machine, we must escalate our community defense and protect the rights and safety of all our residents,” stated Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, chair of the Alameda County Collectively for All Advert Hoc committee
Initially Revealed: October 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM PDT
