Consultants propose $10 million plan and seven‑person pilot to stand up Alameda County Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs

A consultant team on Thursday urged Alameda County supervisors to fund and staff a new Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, outlining a $10,000,000 implementation proposal, a seven‑person pilot staff and six immediate steps intended to avoid service interruptions for immigrant and refugee residents.

The recommendation, presented to the Alameda County Together for All Ad Hoc Committee by Be The Change Consulting and Like Water Consulting Group, follows a months‑long study that included peer‑jurisdiction scans, 22 county stakeholder interviews, community focus groups and a nine‑member community advisory board. Consultant Sangeetha Kumar said the study identified roughly $7,000,000 in recent investments supporting legal defense, hotlines and organizing and cited an additional $800,000 county stabilization payment in February 2025.

Kumar summarized the committee’s priorities: “Trust and safety came up over and over — language access and access to qualified legal counsel is the single most urgent need identified across all…