The Santa Ana City Council this week reaffirmed its dedication to protecting all of the city’s residents regardless of immigration status; however, it is unclear whether it will consider again a Sanctuary Policy Advisory Group to review and possibly strengthen the city’s sanctuary protections.

City Manager Alvaro Nuñez said he will work alongside the city attorney to make sure the city is in full compliance with its sanctuary ordinance and “come up with an approach” that speaks to the language and “spirit of the ordinance.”

In 2016, Santa Ana became the first city in Orange County to declare itself a sanctuary city, prohibiting the use of city resources for immigration enforcement. With the city’s official sanctuary ordinance in 2017, the Sanctuary Policy Advisory Group was to advise city leaders on protecting immigrant residents and sanctuary city policies.

“I believe that we must continue to work with trusted, experienced organizations that have been in this fight from the beginning, organizations that have proven to prioritize the needs of our residents,” City Councilmember Jessie Lopez said, adding she didn’t think the city would “lose anything by ensuring that we have access to experts, by ensuring that we have technical expertise and real data that we can rely on to inform our policy-making decisions.”

She is requesting the council revive the advisory group, which she said last met in 2020, following a flurry of activity from the Trump administration stepping up federal immigration enforcement, sparking fear in Orange County’s immigrant communities.

Whether the group ever existed was questioned by Mayor Valerie Amezcua and Councilmember David Penaloza, as well as the city attorney and city manager.

When asked about the existence of the group, City Manager Alvaro Nuñez said, “We’re still doing formal research to indicate any type of listing, and maybe because it’s been a long time since they met … as far as a formal established committee or setting, no.”

City Attorney Sonia Carvalho also said she could not find “anything to suggest the Sanctuary Policy Advisory Group had ever been in existence.”

Documents on the city’s website include calendar entries in 2018 for Robert Cortez, the former deputy city manager, for what are labeled as meetings of the group, along with former Police Chief David Valentin as well as folks from Resilience OC, UCI Law and other groups. There is also a 2017 record of the City Council having received and filed an update on the advisory group.

Community members at Tuesday night’s meeting told the council they had participated in the advisory group.

The need for such a group now was part of the council’s discussion at Tuesday night’s meeting. Amezcua pointed to the city’s current executive leadership.

“These protections are now embedded within our institutional framework, making them a permanent and effective part of city operations. The goals of the Sanctuary Policy Advisory Group have been successfully realized,” Amezcua said. “Inclusivity and immigrant rights are not just initiatives. They are fundamental values ingrained in our policies and in our practices. As a result, a separate advisory group is no longer necessary.”

Councilmember Thai Viet Phan said the data and information collected from experts can be submitted to the city manager’s office.

“Despite the fact that we may disagree on many other items, I believe that this council stands in solidarity with our immigrant communities,” Phan said. “If there’s information, if there’s data, if there are issues that you want to raise, there’s, I assume, nothing stopping anyone from sharing that with our city manager’s office, and I expect that you (Nuñez) will be receptive to this information so that we can ensure our policies and our procedures are reflective of best practices as much as possible.”

Part of the group’s identified tasks was to make recommendations on the use and oversight of the city’s Deportation Defense Fund, money used to provide legal defense to residents facing deportation. Councilmembers Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, Benjamin Vazquez and Phan recommended the oversight of the fund be brought back to the council as a separate item.

A joint letter from the Harbor Institute for Immigrant & Economic Justice, El Centro Cultural de México and VietRISE asked the City Council to consider separating the city’s legal defense fund from the advisory group.

“The fund has historically suffered gaps in outreach and services that remain unaddressed, particularly in relation to the city’s Southeast Asian refugee community members,” the letter said. “Seeing as the fund’s current provider was the only bidder for the next fund contract, the fund should first be restructured to 1) increase the scope of services and 2) expand outreach to communities not currently serviced before advancing any process that would result in granting the current provider the contract again.”

A request for proposals seeking a contractor to manage the defense fund was put out last November, however, only one organization applied, officials said. Hernandez said he would like to see a more inclusive contracting process.

“We need all hands on deck right now,” Hernandez said. “I want to ensure that we expand outreach to communities who are currently not being serviced before moving forward with any process that results in granting the current provider with the full contract amount.”