The Santa Barbara City Council voted to give $500,000 to local immigrant organizations in response to recent ICE enforcement activities.
Local advocates packed a Special Council Meeting urging lawmakers to support families impacted by raids and educate the immigrant communities on their rights.
In response, the council voted to allocate $500,000. The money will come from the city’s housing funds, but with the caveat that the city’s Finance Committee comes up with ideas to replenish that money.
Primitiva Hernandez is the executive director of 805 UndocuFund – a Central Coast immigrant-serving organization.
“I'm happy that they're going to be allocating the funding that we asked for today– $500,000,” said Hernández. “Rent is due tomorrow and these families don't have time to wait for them to deliberate on where the money is going to come from.”
One council member abstained, and Mayor Randy Rowse voted no. Rowse said he was not comfortable taking money from a local housing fund without a clear plan for where it would go.
The council plans to submit ideas on how the funds will be distributed by August 12.
