Mayor Lurie Signs Ordinance To Provide $3.5 Million For Expanded Coordinated Immigrant Legal Services

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today signed a $3.5 million supplemental budget appropriation to expand coordinated immigration legal services and coordinated response efforts for immigrant communities across San Francisco. Approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors earlier this week, the funding will strengthen the city’s support for immigrant residents through accessible and timely legal assistance. The legislation was sponsored by District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder, District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen, District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter, and Board of Supervisors President and District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.

The additional funding will add to the immigrant legal defense funding protected, amid an historic deficit, in the city budget passed 10-1 by the Board of Supervisors in July. In August, Mayor Lurie partnered with District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood on legislation allowing the city to receive an additional $3.4 million philanthropic grant to expand capacity in the Public Defender’s Office Immigration Defense Unit. This fall, the mayor signed an executive directive with a set of clear, decisive actions to coordinate public safety and communication procedures, support San Francisco’s immigrant communities, and strengthen trust between residents and government.

“Throughout this year, San Franciscans have come together time and time again to support our immigrant neighbors, and this funding is yet another example,” said Mayor Lurie. “We are partnering with the Board of Supervisors, coordinating across city departments, and working hand in hand with the community organizations on the ground to ensure that every resident of our city knows we have their back. These are San Francisco values, and I will keep standing up for them every day.”

“We know when our immigrant community is under attack in San Francisco, our first line of defense is the Rapid Response Network and our immigrant legal defense services,” said Supervisor Chan. “Continuing investment of resources and funding of this work is how our city will remain as a sanctuary for all and makes us all safer.”

“The Trump administration has turned immigration hearings and appointments into traps, and this surge in funding will help more immigrants like the young couple I saw arrested by ICE at the courts this fall, get the legal support they need,” said Supervisor Fielder.

“This funding is critical to supporting our most vulnerable residents,” said Supervisor Mahmood. “Because our immigrant communities—including our neighbors, friends, and family, no matter where they come from—deserve to feel safe and protected.”

“This funding represents our city’s commitment to doing whatever we need to in order to combat the assault on our immigrant communities,” said Supervisor Chen. “Today represents an important step forward to ensure that our most vulnerable communities have access to the frontline defenses they need.”

“By allocating these funds, we are giving San Franciscans a fighting chance to defend their human rights and lead dignified lives in our city,” said Supervisor Melgar. “The immigrant community is the backbone of our city—from essential workers in our hospitality industry, to health care workers and child care providers, our immigrants keep the city running. These same communities are facing unprecedented attacks from the federal administration and careless violations of due process.”

“This additional funding is a direct response to the needs we're seeing in our immigrant communities,” said Supervisor Sauter. “We're bolstering resources like language access and immigration legal services in a time of intense fear and uncertainty. I'm proud that this funding received unanimous support from the Board of Supervisors who are united in our commitment to uphold San Francisco values.”

The funding will be administered by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) via grants to community-based immigration service providers. This investment adds to the $12.3 million in grants already distributed for immigrant legal services this fiscal year, strengthening San Francisco’s coordinated response systems and expanding resources to meet rising immigration-related demands.

The funding will support two key service areas in Fiscal Year 2025-2026:

• Coordinated legal defense: $1.86 million to fund additional full-time attorneys and paralegals to provide legal representation in immigration courts, including enhancing technical assistance and standardized legal resources for community-based immigration service providers to help them build capacity
• Coordinated response services: $1.64 million to support trained dispatchers and rapid response staff, upgrade secure communications systems, and expand multilingual outreach efforts, including Know Your Rights workshops and other public education efforts

The $3.5 million supplemental appropriation comes amid a sharp increase in demand for immigration-related services. In the first quarter of FY 2025–26 alone, the city’s rapid response hotline received 1,446 calls—exceeding the annual goal by 20% and marking a 350% increase over the same period last year.

This initiative reflects the city’s continued commitment to interdepartmental coordination, building on the longstanding partnership between the MOHCD and the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA). Together, MOHCD and OCEIA work to align legal services, outreach, and policy strategies to ensure immigrant communities can access critical resources. This collaboration strengthens the city’s infrastructure for immigrant inclusion by integrating legal defense, rapid response, and public education efforts across departments and community-based partners.

“We applaud this additional funding at such a critical time,” said Jorge Rivas, Executive Director of OCEIA. “The funding for MOHCD's immigration legal defense and community response services is a vital part of the immigration services supported by the city. Together with the affirmative immigration services, asylum immigration legal services, naturalization services, fee assistance for immigration services, and language access and other community grants that OCEIA funds, these funds make up a critical component of San Francisco's support for immigrant communities and reflect our values as a city.”