Panel and advocates urge continued — and expanded — funding for 1 California immigration legal services

Jennifer Troia, director of the California Department of Social Services, told the subcommittee CDSS administers nearly $75 million annually for immigration legal services (the “1 California” program) and funds 85 organizations at 162 service locations statewide.

“Every year, our funding helps hundreds of thousands of immigrants apply to obtain DACA benefits, green cards, temporary protected status, or to become citizens of The United States,” Troia said.

Advocates and legal service providers said demand has surged and that recent federal actions and stop‑work orders have left many clients without representation. Shuming Chiran, deputy director with the California Immigrant Policy Center, told the committee that “in 2023, 70 percent of immigrants in California facing deportation who had lawyers by their side had successful case outcomes. In contrast, only 49 percent of immigrants facing deportation without lawyers were able to win their cases.”

CDSS described how it will spend $10 million in special-session funding: tentatively about $4 million to augment existing provider agreements and $5 million set aside for a competitive regional funding initiative, with roughly $1 million for administration and implementation. CDSS said these augmentations will be rolled out over the next three to six months after stakeholder assessments.

Provider and advocate requests and program details

Multiple legal services organizations and representatives from Immigrant Legal Defense, the Asian Law Caucus, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and other providers urged the subcommittee to maintain the $75 million baseline and approve an additional $60 million in fiscal year 2025–26 to expand capacity, particularly in underserved rural regions such as the Central Valley, Central Coast and Inland Empire.

Panelists described program activities that include legal representation, outreach and education, technical assistance and specialized projects such as the Children’s Holistic Immigration Representation Project (CHIRP), which funded integrated attorney-and-social-work teams to serve unaccompanied minors. CDSS said CHIRP began as one‑time funding and is scheduled to end June 30 this year; CHIRP grantees had served 728 clients as of December 2024.

CDSS administrative staffing and timelines

CDSS said it is already assessing grantees’ capacity to absorb special-session funds and anticipated notifying the Legislature and stakeholders as the competitive awards are finalized. The department requested limited-term administrative resources to run the competitive process and project rollout and noted some existing program staff positions were originally limited-term and require ongoing position authority to maintain capacity.

Analyst and finance responses

The Legislative Analyst’s Office said the governor’s budget maintains the $75 million ongoing allocation and that LAO stands ready to assist the Legislature as the situation evolves. The Department of Finance offered no further comments but said it would answer questions as needed.

Public testimony and community impact

Dozens of public commenters representing statewide and regional legal services providers, community organizations and immigrant Californians described long waitlists, surging enforcement, and frontline staffing needs. Several providers reported turning away hundreds of people or keeping wait lists that can exceed months. Advocates said additional funding would be used both to expand direct representation (including removal defense) and to build organizational infrastructure—hiring attorneys and DOJ‑accredited representatives who can provide representation in underserved counties.

Ending

No formal action or votes occurred at the hearing. Lawmakers asked CDSS to return with implementation detail and timing for the competitive awards, and several asked the department to brief offices when awards are posted so local networks can plan outreach.