THANK YOU!

We will let you know soon how you can donate to the Fresno Legal Defense Fund.

In the meantime, check out our proposal to the City of Fresno to find out how a public-private Legal Defense Fund can save Fresno families and send a message to other prospective supporters that this is a commitment we can all make together.

Faith in Fresno congregations, clergy and community partners are strongly recommending that the Fresno City Council and Mayor Brand support an addition to the budget to invest into and provide leadership to help steer creation of a public-private Legal Defense Fund, which would concretely save Fresno families and send a message to other prospective supporters that this is a commitment we can all make together. After discussions with local attorneys, community groups, and philanthropic foundations, we believe there is a strong and rising coalition of support around this cause.

As we have seen across the country, and particularly in California, raids and deportations of our immigrant families have increased in the last few months. Recent Executive Orders have led to unprecedented expansion of who can and is being targeted by ICE, with an 150% increase this year in arrests of undocumented immigrants with no criminal record.

Several California cities have recently approved funding to catalyze a Legal Defense Fund, which would take some City funding and multiply it by coupling it with other public and/or private sources, to create a pool of funding for legal services. This would help both defer costs in certain situations and create an environment that helps identify quality legal representation.