Fullerton residents detained by federal immigration agents will not benefit from $100,000 worth of legal support or $100,000 for rent and grocery assistance like in other Orange County cities.
At least for now.
[Read: Immigrant Aid in Orange County Poised to Expand]
On the Prop. 50 election night, city council members voted 3-2 to table proposals for a $100,000 immigrant legal defense fund and a $100,000 rent and food assistance program amid budget concerns as officials are projected to face a $10 million deficit at the end of the decade.
Councilman Nick Dunlap said the city can’t afford to fund the aid programs.
“We’ve got parts of our city where entire neighborhoods are without street lights. We’ve got neighborhoods where the roads and streets are so bad that kids and adults can’t ride their bikes and can’t play without worrying about tripping or hurting their feet,” he said.
Dunlap also said people reached out to him and raised concerns that the aid programs were divisive because of their limited funds.
“It seems extra divisive because if there were additional funds available, they should be going to serve our entire community and not a particular group of our community,” he said.
A view of the SOCO District of Downtown Fullerton on Oct. 5, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC
Council members Ahmad Zahra, who spearheaded the proposals, and Shana Charles were the dissenting votes.
“If fiscal responsibility is the goal then I think we should go and reconsider a lot of votes that we’ve taken in the past,” Zahra said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Maybe we should reconsider firing our city manager back a few years ago, that cost us to pay two city managers at the same time because we had a nine months severance package.”
Charles called the widespread deportation sweeps a public health emergency and said federal immigration agencies are disregarding the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the U.S, Constitution.
“I hope you find it within your heart to have compassion for our neighbors who are experiencing terrifying persecution because of their skin color or spoken language. This is how we show that our city stands up for human rights and the U.S. Constitution,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Charles said she worries about her own family including her children who are Guatemalan American.
“I would be worried that my kids would say to me, ‘Mom, I’m now ashamed of what you did’ if I said to them, yeah, we have $30 million in the bank, and we’re just going to leave $200,000 of it sitting there instead of doing something real that could help real families,” she said.
“This $200,000 is not going to break us, but it could absolutely do some real good right now.”
The council’s aid fund rejection comes as immigrant advocates warn that the roving deportation sweeps that kicked off in June are ramping up again as food bank leaders warn of a sharp increase in hunger amid the longest government shutdown in history.
According to the USC Equity Research Institute, about 16% of Fullerton residents are undocumented or live with an undocumented family member in a city of roughly 137,000 people.
Fullerton’s Financial Woes
A view down N. Harbor Blvd. towards Downtown Fullerton on Oct. 5, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC
Funding for both programs would have come from the roughly $27 million left in the city’s general fund reserve after officials allocated roughly $3.8 million from that pot of money to balance their budget earlier this year.
Fullerton is also facing a projected $9.3 million deficit next fiscal year that, if left unchecked, could go up to $10 million by the end of the decade, according to the city budget.
Councilwoman Jamie Valencia, who had previously voted to bring back proposals on the immigration aid funds, did not directly speak to why she voted against the proposals this time but asked a couple of questions on the budget.
“We have such a huge deficit that we need for critical infrastructure for our city. That’s what cities focus on,” she said.
“When we brought this two weeks ago to council, my main concern was that I would love city staff to come back to the table and explain, does our city and can our city financially support without getting away from our critical infrastructure bank and to keep our city going?”
The proposed amount for the programs – $200,000 – is less than 1% of the city’s reserves.
Like Valencia, Mayor Fred Jung didn’t speak to his vote directly, but asked about the budget.
Zahra said the programs were about helping residents in need and the amount wouldn’t break the bank.
“This is not going to impact us. We can weather this. It’s a small amount of money,
and these are what reserve funds are for,” Zahra said.
Charles said the city is expected to discuss two separate proposed sales tax increase measures before next year’s November election that could bring in $15 million for infrastructure like road repairs and $15 million for public safety.
Sounding Off on Immigration Aid Funds in Fullerton
“No Kings” rally at Centennial Park in Santa Ana, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Protestors advocated for immigrant rights amid the Trump presidency. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Dozens of people came out to speak in favor of the aid funds in Fullerton Tuesday, arguing officials need to step up to protect and support local immigrant families during a time when they are struggling and fear their loved ones being deported.
A majority of Fullerton School Board members, including Vanessa Estrella, Miguel Alvarez and Ruthi Hancett, were among the speakers in favor of the proposals arguing that it was necessary to keep families together.
“Fullerton School District has already lost some of our students when their parents were deported suddenly,” Hancett said.
“Other families are living in constant fear and have restricted their movements because of the risk of being deported, not because they’re criminals, but because of the illegal ways that immigration is being enforced.”
Some of the speakers wore t-shirts with monarch butterflies – a longtime symbol of immigration for the insect’s migration pattern between Mexico and the U.S.
Others wore white.
Aliya Yousufi, senior policy and advocacy manager at the Council on Islamic-American Relations in Anaheim, said the legal aid fund is necessary because immigrants aren’t always guaranteed a public defender.
“Without access to legal representation, many residents, including those who worship, work and study right here in Fullerton, are forced to face the system alone,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“A legal defense fund would ensure that every Fullerton resident, regardless of status, has fair representation and a chance to stay with their family.”
“No Kings” rally at Centennial Park in Santa Ana, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Protestors advocated for immigrant rights amid the Trump presidency. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Some of the speakers spoke directly to Councilwoman Valencia saying she represented a predominantly Latino district and urged her to support local families.
Tanya Leon, a resident and program manager with the OC Justice Fund, said without city support Fullerton residents in detention will have no place to turn for help.
“I just don’t see what the point of fixing critical infrastructure is if Fullertonians are no longer here to use it,” Leon said. “Our residents are district four residents. They are being removed. It makes no difference to me if my streets are better, if my neighbors can’t use them.”
Two people on Zoom spoke out against the proposals, arguing private nonprofits should be the ones supporting immigrants, not the taxpayers.
Jack Dean, a Fullerton resident who served on the city’s fiscal sustainability committee, said the city doesn’t have the money and taxpayers shouldn’t fund a partisan cause.
“I would urge you to work with existing organizations to assist undocumented immigrants begin collecting donations,” he said.
“If you truly believe in this cause, all of you in attendance tonight should be among the first to contribute. Let’s use city funds on services and projects that are needed here and that benefit all city taxpayers.”
Another speaker on Zoom who identified himself solely as Tony agreed.
“It’s not the job of the government to help people with legal aid,” he said.
“I’m willing to help them. I mean, everybody that was here tonight, if they all pitched in, we’d probably have $200,000. We don’t need the government to help community members.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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