Undocumented residents can now serve on all city boards and commissions in Santa Ana

Santa Ana’s thousands of undocumented residents will now have the ability to serve on city boards, commissions and committees.

The Santa Ana City Council on Tuesday night voted to remove the requirement that residents must be “qualified electors,” or have to be eligible to vote, in order to serve on the advisory bodies.

More than 100,000 non-citizens live in Santa Ana, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. The Santa Ana rule received initial unanimous approval earlier this month and was passed Tuesday night as part of the consent calendar without any council discussion.

The city has 10 boards, commissions and committees. Two of the advisory bodies — the Youth Commission and Measure X Citizens Oversight Committee — have not required members to be qualified electors.

Undocumented residents will now be able to serve on the Arts and Culture Commission, Personnel Board, Community Development Commission, Planning Commission, Environmental and Transportation Advisory Commission, Historic Resources Commission, Workforce Development Board and Board of Recreation and Parks.

Also on Tuesday night, the council voted unanimously in favor of a $400,000, two-year contract, with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center to provide legal services to undocumented residents who are battling deportation proceedings.

The move is part of the city’s deportation defense fund, a program started in 2017 that allows Santa Ana residents facing potential deportation to secure an attorney they would otherwise not be able to afford.

The fund was a subject of controversy last year when the council considered cutting the program’s budget in half, from $200,000 per year to $100,000. At the time, the council was discussing its fiscal budget, including an increase in police spending. The council received criticism from the community and ultimately approved the original $200,000 figure.

Current Mayor Vicente Sarmiento, then a councilman, spoke out in favor of the defense fund at the time. After welcoming three new members in December, the council has a progressive majority.

Councilwoman Thai Viet Phan spoke in favor of the contract and pointed out that she would like to see the inclusion of the Asian/Pacific Islander immigrant community in the program.

“Immigration is really a core issue for me, my family and our community in general,” Phan said. “... I want to make sure that we’re also providing services or extending offering services to the API community, the Asian American community, because I think based on previous reports, they have not had any clients in Santa Ana under this program who is Asian American or non-Latino.

“Obviously, I know the need is very high in both communities but I just want to make sure that we do have some outreach and work with other community organizations also that may refer undocumented APIs to the program.”

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