County dedicates $500,000 to Know Your Rights campaign for immigrants
Supervisors follow through on their promise to back a resolution on immigrant rights with funding
At their Jan. 4 meeting, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors allocated $500,000 to provide support for undocumented, immigrant and refugee residents of Sonoma County during this time of uncertainty nationwide.
The services to be funded with these one-time discretionary dollars will focus on providing education on individuals’ legal rights related to immigration status. According to a county press release on the allocation, “The approach prioritizes collaboration among community-based organizations to ensure consistency of information, accomplish collective impact, and avoid duplicative efforts.”
The County will execute a $500,000 funding agreement with Secure Families Collaborative, the nonprofit that the Board of Supervisors established in 2018 to meet the needs of the local immigrant community due to changes in federal immigration policy. Secure Families Collaborative has been tasked with identifying Know Your Rights educational services gaps and distributing funding amongst available Sonoma County service providers partners in an equitable way.
“With this action, we affirm our commitment to partnering with trusted community organizations that are on the front lines of this work,” said 5th District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. “Local government plays a crucial role, but real change happens when we come together — as neighbors, as a community — to stand up for one another and ensure everyone feels safe and welcome here.”
On January 10, in one of its first acts of the year, the Board of Supervisors approved a resolution limiting the use of County funds, personnel and other resources to enforce federal immigration laws. The resolution reaffirmed the County’s alignment with state laws that ensure law enforcement services, schools, health care facilities, courts and other public agencies are accessible to every person in California, regardless of immigration status. (See our article on this resolution here.)
The resolution directs County departments and employees to comply with state law that limits government agencies, including law enforcement, from sharing information about an individual’s immigration status with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that enforces immigration laws. Exceptions in the state law allow law enforcement to provide ICE with information about undocumented immigrants convicted of a serious or violent felony.
The County has established a webpage, SonomaCounty.ca.gov/immigrant-support, which lists resources for immigrants, such as legal and social services.
Well done, Board of Supervisors. Thank you for posting, Dale and Laura.