Anaheim City Council discussed the potential to replenish funds for the Contigo Program and the possibility of setting up a legal defense fund for residents affected by federal immigration enforcement on Tuesday.
The Anaheim Contigo Program was launched on June 17, 2025 as the city’s response to the increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence.
It aims to provide assistance to community members by giving timely updates on immigration enforcement in the area, laying out legal and educational resources, and handing out emergency grants for impacted residents.
“Our timely updates are among the most important work that we do. Since June, we have gone out on more than 100 actual incidents or potential incidents to detail what happened or to dispel speculation or inaccurate information,” said Anaheim Chief Communications Officer Mike Lyster.
The program gives updates on immigration enforcement in the area every day, including weekends and holidays. Lyster noted that the program is noticing a shift from roving enforcement to targeted enforcement since the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Roving enforcement refers to immigration operations that impact areas such as car washes and Home Depots while targeted enforcement focuses on just one or two individuals. The type of enforcement operation that has affected Anaheim the most is roving enforcement.
When eligible for the emergency assistance grants, affected residents are able to receive up to $1,000 in rental assistance and up to $500 for all other household expenses.
The council approved and allocated $250,000 in funding for the program on July 15, 2025 from the Anaheim Community Fund.
Since then, the program has used $213,262 of the funds; $161,739 was pulled from the city’s Housing Trust in order to help affected residents in rental assistance. $51,522 was pulled from the city’s General Fund and used to fund other miscellaneous household expenses.
It was noted in the presentation given to the council that the remaining funds are expected to last the program two to three more months before running out.
It was also noted that users of the Contigo program gave feedback, stating that while helpful, the assistance grants only provide around 30 days of temporary housing assistance and the current program model is not enough to provide assistance with legal fees.
“We have had clients that have come to us asking for assistance with legal fees. Unfortunately, again, we’re limited in what we can provide,” said Anaheim Neighborhood Services Manager Joe Perez. “Anecdotally, clients have shared with us that in the $20,000 to $30,000 range is what is being quoted to them … certainly there is a burgeoning need as I shared earlier.”
Mayor Pro Tem Carlos A. Leon proposed looking into setting up a legal defense fund for families affected by immigration enforcement in need of help with legal fees while also asking if there would be any way to start a replenishment request during the meeting.
It was noted that, to comply with the Brown Act, the council should discuss starting a replenishment request when it can be better noted in the agenda.
“I really think that the moment we let this fund dry, is the moment a family calls the Family Resource Center, there’s nothing left to offer them,” Leon said.
As of July 2025, Anaheim is dealing with general fund spending outpacing the city’s revenues by $64 million, in which they are using one-time revenue sources to fill the gap.
Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava expressed concern about funds being pulled from the general fund rather than the DisneylandForward.
“I specifically remember having this discussion as if it was yesterday, and I know that we said we didn’t want it to come out of the general fund. We specifically talked about it coming out of the Disney(land)Forward dollars. So it was $250,000 from there,” Rubalcava said.
The council will continue to discuss the replenishment of the Contigo program and the possibility of setting up a defense fund at a later date.