Immigration advocates urge Alameda Co to expand response hotline
Immigrant advocates want 24/7 hotline in Alameda Co
Alameda County is considering ways to fund a 24-7 hotline in response to increased immigration enforcement.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Alameda County is considering ways to fund a 24-7 hotline in response to increased immigration enforcement.
Supervisors Nate Miley and Elisa Marquez said they are in support of the idea and will work on finding additional funding after hearing from community-based organizations that are part of the county’s rapid response network and members of the community.
At a committee meeting Wednesday afternoon, Executive Director of Centro Legal de la Raza Monique Berlanga said that the network is inundated, as the Trump administration threatens to increase ICE operations in California.
The backstory:
In March, the county approved $3.5 million to fund services for immigrants, including $700,000 for Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP) to create a rapid response hotline for the community to report ice activity.
ACILEP is a collaborative program which works together to form a rapid response network.
The rapid response hotline has already fielded more than 1100 calls and helped confirm 20 incidents of immigration enforcement in the county, but it is only operating Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The community organizations that make up the rapid response network are asking for funds to extend the hotline to operate after hours and on weekends.
Community advocates argued that after immigrants in the Bay Area reported receiving text messages over the weekend to check in to an immigration facility, the concern is whether the county is prepared to respond outside of business hours.
"That’s the first line of defense, and when people are in panic and they don’t have accurate information, they need to know that they can call one number," said Marquez.
Berlanga said she’s seeing ICE operations increase with new tactics she’s never seen before.
"I think the levels of funding that the federal government is indicating that it’s going to put into increased ICE enforcement is unprecedented," she said. "So the amount of resources it’s going to take us to effectively respond is hard to quantify tight now."
The advocacy group said it needs help to build the technological infrastructure and volunteer staff to operate the hotline overnight and on weekends.
Berlanga said the money currently allocated "is not enough to set up an infrastructure that covers an entire county."
At this time, other Bay Area counties have 24/7 hotlines, such as San Francisco and Santa Clara.
Immigrant advocates report seeing instances of documented immigrants being detained and arrests occurring during standard check-ins.
"Over the last several months our clients who have been regularly complying with the terms of their supervision have experiences increased fear, anxiety, trauma, panic over having to check-in in person with ICE," said Raha Jorjani, Deputy Public Defender at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office.
"A lot of people, for example, don’t want to go church, don’t want to work, don’t want to go to the hospitals," said Manuel DePaz with the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant.
Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez was also present at the meeting and said her deputies would not be aiding ICE and that "local law enforcement has a role in protecting everyone, regardless of status."
During the meeting’s public comment, members of the community expressed a desire to help staff the hotline after-hours.
"It was reassuring to hear the community say we’re ready and willing to do our part, so now we have to step up and provide additional resources so we can expand the hours," said Marquez.
The county-wide hotline number is 510-241-4011. Berlanga said ACILEP is always looking for volunteers, especially multilingual, and the rapid response network will train them up.
What's next:
Supervisor Marquez said the board will convene to find additional funds to expand the hotline in the coming weeks.
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