Immigration

Immigration advocates push supervisors to continue funding San Mateo County's Rapid Response Network

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Immigration advocates on the Peninsula are pushing hard to hold onto a service they call the first of its kind in the nation. Ian Cull reports.

Immigration advocates on the Peninsula are pushing hard to hold onto a service they call the first of its kind in the nation.

The service gives immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and facing deportation free legal help as they navigate the complex immigration system.

A handful of immigration attorneys and nonprofits lobbied the San Mateo Board of Supervisors to refund the county's Rapid Response Network. The network was formed in 2017 after President Donald Trump took office and established a 24/7 hotline for legal assistance.

If someone is detained by ICE, a family member can call the Rapid Response Network. An attorney will respond, find out where the person is being held, and provide them free legal council. The attorney can also help residents with asylum and other cases in immigration court.

The program's funding is set to expire. While the group fears it's a matter of weeks, the county said it is funded until next summer.

"With the funding being cut we won't be able to take on new cases," said Victoria Sun, an immigration attorney with Pangea Legal Services. "And we might not be able to even continue representing those clients in their current defense."

Heriberto Raymundo said he was set to be detained by ICE in 2021, but he called the network and was able to get help. Raymundo said through an interpreter he now has a permit to continue working as a landscaper and handyman.

The group is hoping the county will use Measure K funds to keep the network going. Measure K was a half-cent sales tax measure approved in 2016 to support essential county services. And with a very clouded future for America's immigration policy, they said it is important to have stable services available.

"So the community has the resources at their disposal to prepare themselves and empower themselves to respond in the case of mass ICE arrests," Sun said.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors could discuss whether or not to fund the network during an upcoming meeting on June 25.

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