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Community groups urge Santa Paula to fund legal defense and act quickly on immigration ad hoc committee
Summary
Multiple community speakers urged the council to convert the recently created ad hoc immigration committee into concrete action, requesting a legal defense fund and $200,000 in city support, citing recent ICE activity near Best Barbecue and urgent needs for translation and outreach.
Community groups and residents used the public comment period to press the city for concrete steps to protect immigrant families and to operationalize the ad hoc immigration committee.
Nicole Sanders (VC Defensa), Amalia Ochoa and Nydia (policy advocate with COS) thanked the council for creating the ad hoc committee but urged the council to ensure it is not merely symbolic. Speakers asked the city to identify resources, timelines and measurable actions, and proposed the creation of a legal defense fund to cover attorneys or paralegals to help families in immigration proceedings.
A specific funding request appeared in testimony: Nydia asked the council to dedicate $200,000 toward legal aid to cover attorneys, paralegals or to contract with nonprofits so families have representation and access to due process. Multiple witnesses described recent ICE operations near local businesses (Best Barbecue/Harvard) and said the presence, sometimes with force, caused community fear and economic impacts for local businesses.
Councilmembers acknowledged urgency and agreed the ad hoc committee should return concrete recommendations; the council directed staff to continue engagement and community meetings as part of the committee's work.
