Hours after President Trump withdrew a threat to send a “surge” of federal agents to San Francisco,” Supervisor Connie Chan announced that San Francisco would direct an additional $3.5 million to immigrant legal defense and the Rapid Response Network.”
The legal defense funds lawyers for immigrants who need representation, and the Rapid Response Network provides a 24 hour hotline for verifying ICE raids and connecting detained immigrants to attorneys.
Chan, the chair of the city’s Budget Committee, made the announcement alongside her co-sponsors Supervisors Bilal Mahmood, Chyanne Chen, Jackie Fielder and Shamann Walton.
“Despite this morning’s news [that President Donald Trump called off a federal ‘surge’], we know federal agents have been in San Francisco already. For months, we’ve seen how those attempting to follow our legal process abiding by the law at immigration centers are detained during routine check-ins,” Mahmood said, referring to the arrests of asylum seekers at immigrant court and regular ICE check-ins.
“There are still hundreds of local immigrants, including children, who are forced to endure deportation proceedings without legal counsel,” Fielder said. “Our San Francisco Rapid Response team has been operating 24 hours, seven days a week for nearly ten years and is under severe pressure due to a historic number of calls.”
During the city’s difficult budget process this year, which required addressing an $800 million deficit, Lurie declined to renew a one-time fund of $878,000 given to immigrant legal services by former Mayor London Breed at the end of 2024.
“This funding is urgent,” wrote Lariza Dugan-Cuadra, the executive director of Carecen, in a June email to the mayor’s staff obtained by Mission Local in August. Carcen is one of 16 nonprofits in San Francisco’s Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative. The Collaborative, which is funded by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, provides legal defense and, along with the Immigrant Legal & Education Network, supports the Rapid Response Network.
In September, Mission Action, the organization that runs the San Francisco Rapid Response Network, told El Tecolote that if a wider immigration crackdown were to occur, the network could quickly become strained.
City officials planned to solicit donations to make up the difference. In June 2025, local billionaire Michael Moritz’s foundation Crankstart gave $3.4 million to the Public Defender’s office, which has an immigration unit.
According to Chan, the funding will be distributed through the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. Before this new allocation, $10.5 million had already been earmarked for legal aid and the Rapid Response Network.
“If we are going to say that we want to fight the attacks on our city, then we have to put our resources where our mouths are,” Walton said.
Additional reporting by Mariana Duran from El Tecolote.