Oxnard City Manager Alex Nguyen told the Oxnard City Council on Nov. 18, 2025, that staff recommends the city commit to providing matching funds of up to $600,000 over three years to support one additional Ventura County Public Defender attorney to handle immigration proceedings. Nguyen said staff also recommends directing the city manager to enter into a three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ventura County Public Defender's Office and authorizing an administrative appropriation of $200,000 from the general fund balance for fiscal year 2025-26 after the MOU is signed.

Nguyen said the Ventura County Public Defender's Office proposed staffing to provide immigration representation earlier in the summer but that proposal had not been funded by the county. "The majority of the immigration detainees are Oxnard residents," Nguyen said, citing the public defender's office. He said the city's match would fund one of the positions listed in the county staff report (Aug. 12, 2025, item 69), specifically an "attorney 3" level position shown on page 8 of the staff report.

Nguyen described operational advantages to partnering with the county office, saying the Public Defender's Office "has all the legal expertise. They have an entire law office support structure." He emphasized that the representation would not necessarily prevent deportations but would provide legal counsel and help ensure due process in immigration proceedings.

The staff recommendation specifies a not-to-exceed amount of $200,000 per year for three years (total not to exceed $600,000) and requests authority for the city manager to appropriate $200,000 for FY 2025-26 from the general fund after the MOU is executed. The presentation in the transcript does not record any council vote, motion, or final action on the recommendation.

If the council chooses to approve the recommendation, the next steps in the staff presentation would be execution of the MOU with Ventura County and administrative appropriation of the FY 2025-26 funds as described in the staff report.