Marin offers funding for immigrant protection efforts

Marin County is accepting applications for a share of $425,000 in funding aimed at safeguarding immigrant communities.

An additional $75,000 will be provided to the Marin Rapid Response Network, which operates a 24-hour hotline for people to report raids by federal immigration agents.

“As a county, we have a responsibility to ensure that every resident, regardless of immigration status, feels safe, supported and valued,” Marin County Supervisor Mary Sackett said.

Supervisors approved the $500,000 allocation in spring, and the county issued a request for proposals on Thursday. The money is for “services including but not limited to legal representation, family support services, and outreach and education,” according to the resolution.

“Marin County is committed to all who are in need and are eligible for services, regardless of immigration status,” the resolution said.

Members of Parent Voices Marin, an advocacy organization for affordable child care and early education, asked supervisors during a budget workshop in February to supply financial support for undocumented immigrants.

“I commend the Marin County Board of Supervisors for this bold and timely $500,000 investment to safeguard immigrant communities,” said Omar Carrera, executive director Canal Alliance. “At a time when federal actions are fueling fear and instability, Marin is showing that it will not be passive in the face of injustice. We look forward to reviewing the request for proposals and submitting an application.”

The county’s request for proposals states that $240,000 of the total allocation will be reserved for immigration legal services.

“Given the federal administration’s increased targeting of immigrants through the expansion of deportations, detention and enforcement actions across the State of California and nationally, access to affordable and reliable immigration legal services is a critical need for immigrant community members in Marin County,” the request for proposals states.

Another $185,000 is set aside for “immediate, flexible and culturally responsive support to prevent housing instability, hunger and related challenges.”

“The applicant must demonstrate the cultural and linguistic competence, credibility, and capacity to reach and assist immigrant communities,” the request says. “The organization’s services must be provided through a trauma-informed and healing centered approach.”

The Marin Rapid Response Network is a program of the Multicultural Center of Marin. Lisa Bennett, the center’s executive director, said the $75,000 will provide sufficient funds to hire a part-time coordinator for the response network.

“We’re a 24-7 hotline that takes calls from people who either think they have seen ICE or have a family member who has just been detained,” Bennett said. “If someone has been detained, we complete an intake form, which goes to a collaboration of immigration attorneys who can help in the immediate aftermath of someone’s detention.”

Bennett said she knows of six people since April who have been detained by federal agents in Marin County and another three Marin residents who were detained while in San Francisco. She said they were not U.S. citizens.

The Marin Rapid Response Network trains volunteers to serve as legal observers. It dispatches these observers to evaluate reports of immigration enforcement as soon as it receives them. If a report is confirmed, the network spreads the word by contacting community collaborators.

“My first response is always to reach out to trusted sources on the internet and on social media,” Bennett said. “The Multicultural Center also posts alerts that get shared.”

The network does not broadcast alerts using email blasts or text messages, but Bennett said that is something she might explore.

Alma Sanchez, a program manager for the West Marin Rapid Response Network, which is operated by the West Marin Community Center, said her network uses a QR code to send out warnings via text message to people who sign up. Sanchez said the network, which operates much the same as the Marin Rapid Response Network, has existed since 2017.

Bennett expressed frustration regarding some of the information about immigration enforcement that is being disseminated on social media platforms.

“We cannot possibly verify everything that’s posted there, primarily because we don’t have enough information,” Bennett said. “All it seems to be doing now is promoting fear not power.”

Bennett said the most common alert that the Marin Rapid Response Network issues is that “we can’t verify that ICE was ever here, and they’re certainly not here now.”