Everyone deserves legal representation. 

At a time when harsh immigration policies are disrupting our communities, separating families, and increasing detention and deportation, the City of Santa Ana has stepped up to stand with immigrants through the Santa Ana Deportation Defense Fund. The Fund began under the Vera Institute of Justice SAFE Cities program. Santa Ana remains the first and only city in Orange County—and one of only a handful of cities in California—providing legal defense to immigrants facing deportation though a merits-blind, universal model.

Since 2017, ImmDef has been the City of Santa Ana's contracted Legal Service Provider to provide removal defense services to Santa Ana residents. With the assistance of a City-funded lawyer, Santa Ana residents facing deportation or detention have better chances of fighting against an unjust immigration system. According to the VERA Institute of Justice, at the Adelanto Immigration Court, which hears the cases of SAFE’s Santa Ana clients, 74 percent have gone unrepresented over the last five years.