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In response to a surge in calls from immigrant families fearful of deportation, Faith in Action Bay Area held a press conference Monday outside 500 County Center, urging the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to increase funding for immigration attorneys.
“Our community is living through a new, unique situation of expedited mass deportations of mothers, children, fathers, siblings, grandparents,” said Amelia Garibay, a leader with Faith in Action. “We ask for the support and solidarity of our representatives in San Mateo County to overcome this time of persecution.”
Roughly 100 people of all ages gathered in support of the county’s immigrant community. Many held signs reading “LOVE THEY NEIGHBORS, NO EXCEPTIONS,” “LOVE, RESPECT AND DIGNITY FOR IMMIGRANTS,” and “FUND DEPORTATION DEFENSE.” Their message was simple but direct: San Mateo County must do more to protect families from separation by expanding access to legal representation for those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The county has proposed spending $1.75 million on legal services from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Immigrant advocates are urging the Board of Supervisors to increase that amount to at least $2.75 million.
At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, the item passed unanimously as part of the consent calendar, with no discussion. Supervisor Noelia Corzo was absent, attending her son’s graduation.
Wendy Cruz, one of the speakers at the press conference, said recent ICE raids in Los Angeles have sparked fear throughout the Bay Area. She added that many county residents lack even basic access to legal consultations, let alone full representation in immigration court.
“Our valuable immigrant residents are self-representing in court, and this is not right,” Cruz said.
Amanda Alvarado-Ford, an immigration attorney at the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, a nonprofit legal services provider, said current county funding to provide immigration legal services to the low-income community is “vastly insufficient.” Her organization is forced to turn away 10 to 20 families each week who are seeking legal help for asylum cases in San Francisco’s immigration court, she added.
“And it’s heartbreaking, because these are people who have suffered tremendous harm in their home countries, and they have a real fear of returning, that they’ll be harmed or even killed, in some cases, if they get deported,” Alvarado-Ford said.
She said most of the people reaching out are undocumented or have pending applications for U visas, T visas or asylum. Many are women who have survived domestic violence and are navigating the legal system alone, she said.
“There are a lot of mixed-status families calling us — where the parents are waiting on immigration decisions and the children are U.S. citizens,” she said. “The whole family is terrified. If the parents are detained by ICE, what happens to the children?”
According to Alvarado-Ford, without an attorney, individuals, many of whom are non-English speakers — face a judge and a government attorney alone, with the odds heavily stacked against them. They may not understand the law or know how to present the parts of their story that are most legally relevant, she added.
“It’s really essential — now more than ever — that San Mateo County stand with the immigrant community to prevent civil and human rights violations,” she said.
According to a press release from Faith in Action, its rapid response hotline received more than 250 calls in the first three days of June, with 95% of callers seeking legal representation. The hotline connects callers to legal support and guidance during immigration emergencies. The number is 203-666-4472.
“At this time, there are a lot of families crying because of separation from their children,” said Pastor Alex de la Quintana, addressing the crowd at the press conference.
