Rapid Response Program
Community Response
ImmDef launched the Rapid Response Program to prepare for and respond to local ICE enforcement and raid tactics. Our dedicated team of expert immigration attorneys provides urgent, trauma-informed legal services to community members who have been impacted by increased ICE enforcement. ImmDef is a core member of the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network (LARRN), and actively collaborates with partner networks in Orange County, San Diego, central California and the Inland Empire. Through these partnerships, we coordinate real-time responses to enforcement actions, share legal updates, and provide tools for community defense to 2,393 individuals.
Entire Communities are Under Attack
In June 2025, we expanded our services with a bilingual public hotline designed to give community members and partners immediate access to legal support when someone is detained or facing the threat of detention. This hotline ensures that families can reach trained advocates the moment a crisis begins.
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Our Rapid Response Program has become a crucial line of defense against an immigration system that routinely targets and harms vulnerable communities. By mobilizing legal experts, organizers, and community partners in real time, we intervene quickly to protect people’s rights and prevent unlawful detention and deportation.
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Through culturally competent legal representation, community education, and coordinated regional support, we make sure no one is left to navigate an immigration emergency alone. Our work strengthens community power, safeguards due process, and pushes back against a system designed to intimidate and isolate. ​
Escalating Enforcement
Since January 2025, immigration enforcement has escalated nationwide. By the summer of 2025, Southern California saw an intense surge in ICE operations targeting people at courthouses, routine check‑ins, homes, workplaces, schools, and even churches. Most arrests occur without judicial warrants, leaving people without access to counsel and funneled into dangerous, inhumane detention conditions.
The situation grew even more volatile after the June 6, 2025, enforcement spike. On some days, more than 200 people have been arrested, overwhelming detention centers and forcing vulnerable individuals into overcrowded, unsafe facilities.
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These tactics are designed to destabilize entire communities. And because people in removal proceedings are not guaranteed a government‑appointed attorney—regardless of age, trauma, or the stakes—they face this system alone. That is where our rapid response team comes in.
Emergency Legal Defense in Action
Our Rapid Response Program delivers free and immediate legal support to communities targeted by ICE arrests and raids.
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Our services include:
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Emergency legal consultations and intakes
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Preparation and accompaniment for in-person screenings at ICE check-ins and detention centers
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Bond representation to secure release from detention
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Community education through Know-Your-Rights (KYR) events
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Legal Resource Hotline assistance for individuals, families, and community partners
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Regional collaboration with legal partners, labor unions, educators, religious leaders, and advocacy organizations across Southern California rapid response networks.