RICHMOND — Months after promising to spend $1 million to support immigrants targeted by the Trump administration, Richmond’s dollars are being allocated to three organizations with decades of experience serving communities in need.
The nonprofits chosen include the Multicultural Institute, Catholic Charities East Bay and East Bay Sanctuary Covenant. The funds will be split between them to help support legal aid and community education and outreach.
East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, founded in 1982, was awarded about $323,000 to help those seeking affirmative legal aid such as visas, green cards and citizenship, or needing removal defense over the next two years.
With an allocation of more than $394,000, a year of affirmative legal aid as well as public awareness campaigns will be provided by Catholic Charities East Bay, whose history dates back to 1934.
Multicultural Institute, established in 1991, will provide additional know-your-rights events, public awareness campaigns, drop-in immigration clinics and community watch efforts over the next year with the $130,000 it was awarded.
Dollars can also be used to provide monetary assistance for rent, utilities and groceries to families struggling after a breadwinner is detained or deported, following an Oct. 21 City Council vote that expanded the scope of the program. That’s work Catholic Charities East Bay has extensive experience in, said Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, who co-sponsored the $1 million measure with Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda and Councilmember Doria Robinson.
Distribution of the funds comes about seven months after councilmembers first agreed to allocate money in March. Jimenez said she was happy to see funding being distributed to protect a vulnerable community, one she’s a part of as an immigrant herself.
“Investing in these kinds of things is sending a message to the community that the city is supporting in these hard times the community that needs it the most. It’s important to give some reassurance to the community, especially to the immigrant community, that the city is here to protect them, to do whatever we can to make sure they feel safe,” Jimenez said.
Of the city’s roughly 115,300 residents, about 34.5% are foreign born, according to U.S. Census data. Immigrants make up a similar or greater percentage of populations in other Bay Area jurisdictions, including about 35.7% in Alameda County, 42.7% in Santa Clara County and 36% in San Mateo County, according to the 2023 American Community Survey, an annual demographics report produced by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Millions of dollars have been allocated across the region to support those residents: $8 million from Santa Clara County, $3.6 million from Alameda County, more than $1.7 million from San Mateo County, $1 million from San Jose with a another $500,000 to potentially be added in the future, $500,000 from Contra Costa County and $200,000 from Berkeley.
Every dollar is vital, said Multicultural Institute Executive Director Mirna Cervantes and East Bay Sanctuary Covenant Co-Executive Director Lisa Hoffman.
“It’s critical to make funding available for these types of services because our immigrant neighbors and communities need resources, access to services, and advocacy opportunities, now more than ever,” Cervantes said.
Organizations like theirs have been “stretched beyond capacity” as demand for their services skyrocketed since the Trump administration began making good on a campaign promise to aggressively pursue mass deportations of people residing in the country without legal status, Hoffman said.
Immigrants across the Bay Area have been detained at immigration court, during routine check-ins, from their homes or other places in the community. Threats from President Donald Trump to send 100 federal agents into the region to conduct deportation operations in October only added to the fear and confusion, Hoffman said.
“There is a level of fear and grief in immigrant communities that I haven’t felt before to this degree,” Hoffman said. “This funding is important not just to provide desperately needed legal services but also to show our immigrant community members, colleagues, classmates, neighbors that we’re all standing together at this time.”
Andrew Melendez, an organizer with Reimagine Richmond, an organization focused on public safety reform, has pressured the city to quickly distribute funding since it was first promised in March. He lauded the continued support being provided to immigrants during the council’s Oct. 21 meeting while also noting more is needed to meet high and diverse demands for assistance.
Reimagine Richmond is not a recipient of the city’s relief funds but Jimenez noted the organization has been an integral partner in keeping the community informed and safe through hosting know-your-rights events and verifying reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sightings through a rapid response hotline.
“It’s been really amazing to see the community step up through fundraisers, GoFundMes, but we know that through the help of the city we can do so much more to provide that crucial support to community members that are really in need,” Melendez said. “As ICE activity continues to escalate across our communities, we know that it’s cities like Richmond that really are the ones at the forefront of protecting our immigrant communities.”
Jimenez similarly argued that the city will need to get creative in how it provides support in the future, noting Latino business owners have raised concerns about customers shying away from shops and theorizing that may be due to fears of ICE.
“A million is not what’s needed,” Jimenez said. “But at least we’re starting.”