Local congressional leaders are speaking out against a flurry of controversial executive orders from President Trump related to a crackdown on immigration and a potential federal funding freeze, saying such decisions will harm the well-being of people both at home and abroad.

Dozens of Bay Area community members packed into a conference room at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose on Saturday to hear Democratic representatives Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna and Sam Liccardo discuss the impact of such orders.

“We are all going to suffer from all these executive ‘disorders’ we’ve seen in recent days,” Liccardo said to the crowd.

Liccardo emphasized how the orders will have a negative effect on public safety, specifically for those who are worried about ICE activity. He said it is “unsafe for our communities” if people feel that they cannot call 9-1-1 during an emergency for fear of being exposed to ICE.“That is why we … are not going to be sharing information and not going to be part of what ICE is doing,” he said.

The public meeting was held after a week of local reaction and action. Hundreds of people stopped traffic in East San Jose Tuesday while protesting against Trump’s threats of mass deportations. Meanwhile, prominent Bay Area leaders and local law enforcement officers promised to defend Bay Area immigrants following an ICE raid last week in San Jose. Santa Clara County recently joined more than 20 states, including California, in suing Trump to block an executive order that would end birthright citizenship for children born here to parents who are not citizens or who are living in the country illegally.

Khanna said he is concerned about how people in other countries, specifically children, will be affected by Trump’s desire to temporarily suspend all U.S. foreign assistance programs while they undergo a review by his administration. A judicial ruling has halted that presidential order for the time being.

“We live in one of the most affluent places in the world, and I want our district to talk not just about what is happening here, but about the type of America we want to be,” he said as community members nodded their heads in agreement.

Trump has historically been critical of foreign assistance, stating in his first few days of office that the “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.”

The U.S. provides more foreign aid globally than any other country. In 2023, national leaders budgeted about $60 billion for aid, which is roughly 1% of the U.S. budget, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a public policy organization. Federal aid dollars have been spent in conflicts including the war in Ukraine, as well as hundreds of other countries and regions for initiatives like disaster relief.

Lofgren and Santa Clara County Executive James Williams said it is crucial for the county to get clarity on federal funding. The county receives almost a third of its revenue from the federal government, according to Williams, and that money is used to keep many community health services afloat.

“We have been unable to access critical payment portals, we are not receiving reimbursement we submitted,” Williams said. “We are getting bizarre letters and emails across grant programs regurgitating the vague, litany, unconstitutional language of the executive order.”

That aid to counties and other local governments, agencies and companies comes in the form of contracts, grants and direct payments. Organizations in Santa Clara County were budgeted to receive $4.5 billion this fiscal year.

“More than any local government,” Lofgren said, “the connection between federal funding and the county is the strongest.”