Santa Clara County is gearing up to protect immigrants in preparation for a Trump administration that has said it plans to carry out mass deportations.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to move $5 million from the county’s reserves to the county executive’s office to fight back against anticipated deportation actions by the federal government.
Donald Trump, who will assume the presidency once again on Jan. 20, has said he will declare a national emergency around immigration, and use the military to begin the “largest deportation program in American history” on his first day in office. California is quickly preparing to do battle over the incoming president’s agenda, with Gov. Gavin Newsom calling a special session of the state legislature to set aside $25 million for anticipated legal battles over issues like immigration, reproductive rights and climate policy.
Santa Clara County has the largest proportion of immigrants in California compared to the state’s other 57 counties, with more than 40% of residents having been born outside the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“The County must be prepared to boldly and strongly respond to support our residents and entire community,” County Executive James Williams wrote in a memo. “To be prepared to effectively address community needs in this uncertain and evolving environment, the County will need to be flexible and ready to pivot existing resources quickly and also be ready to invest in efforts to protect community wellbeing and safety.”
During the meeting on Tuesday, Williams said the $5 million is just the “beginning of many elements of response” to the Trump administration.
The $5 million, which comes out of a more than $233 million reserve fund, will be used for actions like legal support to prevent family separation, rapid response efforts, “know your rights” education and ensuring every resident has access to medical care and other county services.
Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, whose district includes parts of East San Jose, Morgan Hill and Gilroy, said that a lot of the fear in the community began the day after the election.
“This time is going to be different, and I think what is most important this time is that we provide the support before families and our residents and all of the individuals living in this county actually need it,” Arenas said. “We have to make sure that we do this with love and not fear and a lot of education about what rights people have in this county.”
Supervisor Otto Lee said that the county “must be ready to respond quickly.”
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“Our residents, many of whom have been here for years and decades, should not have to hide and live in the shadows,” he said.
Lee asked county officials to conduct “listening sessions” with community members and “partner with them on potential solutions.”
Santa Clara County has no plans to cooperate with the feds when it comes to Trump’s mass deportation plans — in 2011, the county enacted a policy prohibiting local law enforcement from cooperating with immigration enforcement efforts.
At a press conference last month, Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen said that his office “has a single primary responsibility and that’s to protect and serve all residents of this community regardless of their political affiliation or their immigration status.” The Sheriff’s Office said it does not inquire about immigration status and will not hand over anyone in their custody over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The county took aggressive action to protect immigrants during the last Trump administration, as well. In February 2017, just two weeks after Trump took office for the first time, Santa Clara County sued the president over an executive order that tried to deny federal funds to local or state governments that wouldn’t cooperate with Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts. A federal court in San Francisco ultimately sided with the county.
