Alameda County supervisors approve $3.5 million emergency fund to restart rapid‑response legal services

Alameda County’s ad hoc committee Alameda County Together for All voted to advance a one‑year, $3.5 million emergency funding request to the full Board to help restore rapid‑response legal services and community support for immigrants and other vulnerable residents.

The motion, made by Chair Supervisor Fortunato Bass and seconded by Supervisor Marquez, passed by roll call in the two‑member committee: both supervisors recorded “Aye.” The package is intended as an urgent, interim bridge while the county and community seek multi‑year and philanthropic support.

Committee members and community presenters said the funds are needed to relaunch a countywide rapid‑response hotline and legal triage (soft launch planned immediately for verification, full volunteer launch on Feb. 17), shore up the Public Defender’s immigration unit and stand up community organizing and mobile defense capacity.

The committee-proposed one‑year allocation breaks down as follows: $1,300,000 to expand the Public Defender’s immigration unit (attorney and staff support and litigation expenses), approximately half of the first‑year budget for the Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership (ACLIP/CLIP) to resurrect the hotline and Know‑Your‑Rights outreach, $500,000 to support multiracial organizing and community preparedness, and $1,000,000 for removal and detention legal services.

Supervisor Fortunato Bass framed the request as an urgent, small portion of the county’s overall budget and argued that the county needs to act quickly to ensure residents can access legal help and services. "We have a responsibility as the county," Bass said in presenting the motion. Supervisor Marquez emphasized the humanitarian angle and pledged to pursue outside funding partners as well.

The committee heard detailed requests from the Public Defender (which asked for roughly $1.3 million to add attorneys and support staff), Centro Legal de la Raza (which proposed a CLIP reactivation and estimated a three‑year program cost of about $4.25 million), the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (which requested $2 million for mobile defense), and several community organizers seeking $1 million to scale countywide coalition work. The $3.5 million motion advanced by the committee reflects a negotiated, near‑term package that funds parts of those requests.

Next steps: the motion will be forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on Feb. 18. Committee members said they will continue biweekly meetings and will coordinate with community partners to refine implementation and leverage outside philanthropic support.

(Reporting note: motion and roll call recorded in the ad hoc committee transcript; public‑defender and nonprofit budget requests were read into the record by presenters and summarized by the chair.)