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Politics Apr 19, 2023
A U.S. green card. | Photo by duallogic/Envato Elements
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The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to move forward with the implementation of RepresentLA, a $4 million program to provide various legal services to the city’s immigrant community.
The council adopted an amending motion, presented by members Kevin de León, Paul Krekorian and Monica Rodriguez in May 2022, seeking the adoption of a new program framework following the conclusion of the Los Angeles Justice Fund, the predecessor to RepresentLA.
The earlier program was a two-year public-private partnership between the city, Los Angeles County, the California Community Foundation and the Weingart Foundation. The LAJF pilot program provided a collective $7.9 million to establish a legal defense fund to provide representation to immigrants facing deportations.
“Due process is everyone’s concern,” de León said. “It’s also very human beings’ fundamental right. Regardless of who you are, where you come from, due process is fundamental to personal justice.”
According to de León, more than two-thirds of people who appear in immigration court in LA County face a judge with no one at their side to represent them.
“This is why the complete transition from LA Justice Fund to RepresentLA is so important,” he said. “It formalizes the city’s commitment to our immigrant communities. It’s everyone’s responsibility at every level of government to stand with immigrants.”
He also argued that RepresentLA would be a huge investment in the city’s economic gross domestic product, as deportation of immigrants “rips families apart in the city” and said that kind of dislocation results in the impoverishment of communities.
Under the motion, the city will utilize a selection of contractors recommended to implement various RepresentLA components such as data collection and program evaluation, detained and nondetained removal defense representation, affirmative immigration benefits representation, and community and education outreach.
The city will authorize a memorandum of understanding with the county to provide immigrant legal services through its program for a three-year term with the options to extend for two additional one-year terms based on the availability of funds.
The motion passed in an 11-0 vote.
Some members of the public criticized de León’s continued participation on the council Wednesday. He has defied widespread calls to resign over his participation in the 2021 conversation with former Council President Nury Martinez, former Councilman Gil Cedillo and Ron Herrera, former president of the LA County Federation of Labor, which featured racist comments and was leaked in 2022.
Martinez and Herrera resigned in the aftermath of the leak, while Cedillo was unseated by Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez to represent the 1st District.
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