Immigration defense non-profits awarded more than half-million dollars

A network of non-profit organizations in Sonoma County has received more than a half-million dollars to provide low-cost legal assistance this year to the county’s immigrant communities in danger of deportation.

The Sonoma County Secure Families Fund, hosted by the Community Foundation of Sonoma County, was created in 2017 to raise $2 million for low-cost, high-quality immigration legal services over the next three years. The Fund awarded $550,000 to the non-profit organizations’ Sonoma Secure Families Collaborative for its first year of service. The Secure Families Collaborative is comprised of Catholic Charities, Legal Aid of Sonoma County, the University of San Francisco Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic and Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services.

The Collaborative has three immigration attorneys and one experienced paralegal that provide pro bono deportation defense services. The Collaborative plans to raise $1.2 million over the next two years for the network.

The Collaborative is holding a kickoff event 4-6 p.m. Wednesday at Beer Baron Bar & Kitchen, 614 Fourth St. in Santa Rosa.