RE: Long Beach Justice Fund
Honorable Mayor and City CouncilLong Beach City Council411 W. Ocean Blvd.Long Beach, CA 90802 September 6, 2022
Dear Mayor Garcia and members of the Long Beach City Council, We write to you in strong support of expanding the Long Beach Justice Fund and providing $1million for this fiscal year. Long Beach – like LosAngeles and countless cities across thecountry – is the product of immigrant labor and culture. The impact of deportation is devastating.Publicly funded programs like the Justice Fund are crucial in our collective struggle to ensurethat working families are protected and empowered to live with dignity, without fear.
Having legal assistance is the single most important factor that determines whether or not aperson will succeed in their immigration case. Without a lawyer, working-class folks have littleto no hope of successfully navigating a complex and confusing legal system. This is true both inthe deportation contextandin the context of applyingfor various kinds of visas and protectionsthrough US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Many community members we organize aresubject to being placed in proceedings at any point – applying for affirmative forms of protectionis a way to prevent deportation proceedings from beginning in the first place. Removing thelooming threat of deportation and the uncertainty that comes with undocumented status willprovide community members with the agency and security they need to live full lives.
As a labor policy organization, we must also emphasize that it is much harder for employers toexploit workers when they have lawful status. Bargaining power, wages, and workers’ quality oflife all increase when they do not face the threat of deportation. Likewise, workers whosespouses or other family members are undocumented have more freedom to organize and morepower in the workplace when they know their families will not be torn apart by ICE.
Last year, we conducted an issue survey and spoke with hundreds of Long Beach residents.When asked about immigration, residents expressed overwhelming support for a pathway tocitizenship for undocumented folks. Hundreds of residents also expressed interest in moreinformation on the Justice Fund to pass along to loved ones directly impacted by this issue.
One resident, who is an immigrant herself, had a neighbor who moved out of their building outof fear that they would be targeted or removed because of their undocmented status. Weencounter renters who are afraid to advocate for themselves with their landlords for the same reasons. Another tragic story we came across was a community member who had to take in her11 and 2 year-old nephews after her sister was deported. She felt deeply unprepared to suddenlyraise two children alone after never having any of her own.
Everyone deserves the right to free universal legal representation, especially when faced with thethreat of separation from their homes and loved ones. Since 2018, the Justice Fund has fundeddefense for folks who have been criminalized and detained by ICE. This is huge, but we know itdoes not meet the needs of our communities. Now is the time to strengthen the program byexpanding legal assistance to survivors of crime and domestic violence, to folks struggling withNinth Circuit appeals, and by formally incorporating a holistic approach to immigration support.
For this reason, we urge the City Council to allocate $1 million to the Justice Fund to providefree, comprehensive immigration support to residents, regardless of their background. As Cityleaders, you have the power to create a Long Beach where families no longer live in constantfear, loss, or uncertainty.
Thank you,
Grecia Lopez-ReyesProject DirectorLong Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community