LOS ANGELES – Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion authored by Chair Hilda L. Solis, Supervisor to the First District, and co-authored by Supervisor Hahn that will ensure the continuation of legal representation and due process services for immigrants under the Los Angeles Justice Fund Pilot Program.
“From our most recent efforts to secure a safe and welcoming environment for immigrant children at the Pomona Fairplex, to ensuring the continuation of the Los Angeles Justice Fund to providing essential legal services to low-income immigrants unable to afford legal representation, Los Angeles County is committed to advancing equity and due process for our immigrant residents and their families,” shared Chair Solis.
In response to the urgent need for immigration legal representation, in December 2016, the Board directed the County to work with public and private partners to launch an initiative to provide immigration legal representation to low-income County residents at risk of removal. In executing the Board’s directive, the County partnered with the City of Los Angeles (City), the California Community Foundation (CCF), and the Weingart Foundation to launch the Los Angeles Justice Fund (LAJF), a two-year pilot. As a result of its success, on July 20, 2020, this Board directed OIA to work with the Chief Executive Office (CEO) and CCF to extend the LAJF pilot for one more year, and sunset it on June 30, 2021.
“Since its creation, the LA Justice Fund has helped prevent families from being separated and worked to keep immigrant communities whole,” shared Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Today we are ensuring this program has the bridge funding it needs to continue this important work while we take steps to make this program permanent.”
The passage of this motion authorizes the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA), or his designee, to extend the LAJF Pilot past June 30, 2021, as needed, and continue funding the program through any unspent funds; Directs the Office of Immigrant Affairs in DCBA to create a framework, developed in collaboration with the City of Los Angeles, the California Community Foundation, and the Weingart Foundation, for a proposed Los Angeles Justice Fund Phase II Program; and directs the Chief Executive Officer to report back in the FY 2021-22 Supplemental Budget on available funding to implement the proposed Los Angeles Justice Fund Phase II Program.
To view the motion, click here.