Beginning in 2017 ImmDef with the support of the County & City of Los Angeles, the City of Santa Ana, and later the City of Long Beach,  launched Locally Funded Initiatives to support our immigrant communities facing deportation and ICE prison. The projects were initially formed in conjunction with the VERA Institute of Justices Safe Cities Initiative, a nationwide network of localities investing in their communities by defending them against ICE.  These initiatives were launched following the 2016 election due to the organizing of community-based organizations and activists who saw the need for cities and counties to step up.