As Deportation Fears Rise, Alameda County Invests in Immigrant Legal Defense

As the Trump administration intensifies attacks on immigrant communities, Alameda County supervisors voted Tuesday to allocate roughly $1.3 million to the Alameda Public Defender’s immigration unit, which provides legal representation to people facing possible detention and deportation.

The one-time emergency funds will help support the immigration unit for two years — $80,000 has been earmarked for fiscal year 2025, while $1,300,000 will be set aside for fiscal year 2026. Most of the money will be used to expand the office through the hiring of additional immigration attorneys and support staff, while the remaining funds will be used to cover litigation costs in criminal and immigration courts.

“There are people who are being stopped, detained, held in custody … and sent back to countries where they might be tortured or executed, and they don’t have access to counsel,” said Brendon Woods, Alameda County’s public defender. “People are being removed from this country when they actually have a legal right to stay here, but they don’t have a lawyer representing them to enforce that right.

“That’s why we’re doing it.”

Alameda County supervisors approved $3.5 million last month to bolster support services and legal aid for the county’s refugee and immigrant communities. Some of the money is being allocated to the immigration unit at the Public Defender’s Office, with the remaining $2.2 million going to East Bay nonprofits. According to Woods, it’s likely the largest amount of funding that the immigration unit has received.

Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, widespread anxiety over his anti-immigrant policies has pushed many state and local officials to take action. Bay Area counties have reaffirmed their sanctuary statuses amid reports of immigration enforcement in cities such as San José and San Francisco, as well as Trump’s calls for rapid deportations without due process through the Laken Riley Act and the Aliens Enemy Act.

Recently, Trump called for the removal of Venezuelans who he claimed belonged to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization designated as a foreign terrorist group by his administration. However, the administration has provided little evidence to back the allegations, and deportations have already occurred despite court orders.

“People are terrified and rightfully so as this administration does not give a damn about the legal process,” Woods said. “I don’t think any of us would’ve thought that would be happening in the United States. People with criminal convictions from over 20 years ago, who are legal permanent residents, are being detained and held right now. This is not due process.”

In 2014, the Public Defender’s Office became the first in the state to create a deportation defense unit. Other public defenders throughout the Bay Area created similar units after Trump was first elected.

The Contra Costa County Office of the Public Defender helped launch the nonprofit Stand Together Contra Costa in 2018 as part of its legal defense initiative for undocumented county residents. Stand Together also manages the county’s rapid response hotline, which residents can use to report immigrant enforcement activity and request legal aid.

In 2017, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office created an immigration unit after the first Trump administration threatened to facilitate mass deportation of undocumented residents. It was the third public defender’s office to provide immigrants with legal representation during removal proceedings.

According to Woods, it’s likely that demand for services is going to increase. Alameda County Public Defender’s Office is working with local nonprofits and advocacy groups to make sure that resources are accessible, Woods said, adding that the newly allocated funds will allow it to expand its reach.

“I hope we are staffed up and prepared for the coming challenges,” Woods said. “Immigration laws and what we think is normal changes almost daily. It’s almost as if the government or administration is throwing out the playbook.”