By Hayley Munguia ~ Press-Telegram ~ December 4, 2018
It’s been months since Long Beach first decided to create a legal defense fund to support immigrants facing deportation, and thanks to a City Council vote on Tuesday, Dec. 4, that idea will finally become a reality.
The council approved an agreement between the city and the nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice to create and oversee the fund, on a 6-3 vote. Councilmembers Suzie Price, Daryl Supernaw and Stacy Mungo opposed. All three said they would have preferred the money go directly to local organizations like Centro CHA or the Long Beach Bar Association, and they would have supported a motion to prevent people from using the fund if they were facing deportation because they were convicted of certain crimes.
Vera will provide its services free of charge and will work with the city to find organizations to help provide legal representation. The nonprofit will manage the fund for two years before transitioning it to local control. As part of the partnership, Long Beach is eligible for up to $100,000 in matching funds from Vera.
In addition to the potential for matching funds, Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez said Vera was the best choice because of its “decades of experience on the issue of immigration” and because of its “transparency … and community trust.”
“When you’re using city funding and money, that’s exactly what you want,” Gonzalez said.
City Council first OK’d the idea in March as part of the Long Beach Values Act, a package of citywide policies that served to strengthen the already-existing sanctuary city policy.
After community groups banded together to push for several priorities in the 2019 budget including the legal defense fund, Long Beach agreed and set aside $250,000 in its 2019 budget. The fund is expected to go into action “by mid-February,” according to city staff.
Source: Hayley Munguia ~ Press-Telegram ~ December 4, 2018
