Nearly 70% of the 6,456 people in federal detention centers throughout California have no criminal convictions, according to Department of Homeland Security data<\/a> from Feb. 5 \u2013 the latest available information.<\/p>\n While Anaheim was criticized for not creating an immigrant legal aid fund sooner, Sandra De Anda \u2013 director of policy and legal strategy for the OC Rapid Response Network \u2013 said the daily updates give city staff a unique perspective and understanding into the exact needs of impacted residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read Immigration Legal Aid Could be Coming to Anaheim<\/a>]<\/p>\n In an interview, De Anda said that level of understanding helped the immigrant legal aid fund\u2019s creation, adding that she would regularly see Anaheim\u2019s chief spokesman, Mike Lyster, throughout the city confirming federal deportation efforts \u2013 much like the Rapid Response Network does.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMike Lyster and myself and other folks we do see each other out on the ground when there is enforcement happening. I think what was very pivotal for this policy to pass \u2013 really it was having someone on the inside of the city chambers explain to other folks in the city chambers what\u2019s happening,\u201d De Anda said.\u00a0<\/p>\n She added, \u201cThe legal defense fund conversation should\u2019ve definitely happened earlier,\u201d but De Anda praised efforts to keep residents informed through the website\u2019s daily updates on enforcement activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n While cities like Santa Ana<\/a> and Costa Mesa<\/a> have created legal aid funds to help impacted residents navigate the complex federal immigration system, they don\u2019t offer daily updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read: Immigrant Aid Efforts Expand Again in Orange County<\/a>]\u00a0<\/p>\n Irvine launched an aid program that includes an intake officer to help people get connected to legal representation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other cities \u2013 like Garden Grove<\/a> and Fullerton<\/a> \u2013 have created resource information hubs for residents, but have no dedicated direct assistance or legal aid funds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Many city officials in Orange County who\u2019ve considered creating direct aid funds have said municipal budgets are too strained to create such programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Anaheim Staff Become ICE Watchers<\/p>\n Some advocates and volunteers have noted that Anaheim city staff have virtually become ICE watchers \u2013 just like the scores of trained volunteers who detail and confirm where enforcement is happening throughout Orange County.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely important because you\u2019re honoring the experience of those who are being impacted. You\u2019re saying, \u2018I see you, I see what\u2019s happening,\u201d De Anda said of the daily updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n City officials update the website, Anaheim Contigo<\/a>, every day, detailing recent deportation operations along with pointing residents impacted by ICE raids to a host of city resources like grants for rent and groceries \u2013 along with links to immigrant rights groups and legal clinics.\u00a0<\/p>\n The website gives much more detail about the situation than other Orange County cities that have created immigrant aid funds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been onsite and confirmed a targeted enforcement traffic stop along East Street at the 91 Freeway around 8 a.m. Tuesday, with one person detained. The incident involved three vehicles with five officers, most likely from Immigration and Customs Enforcement,\u201d reads a March 10 update, noting that deportation efforts have decreased since the January shootings in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n De Anda said there\u2019s no other Orange County city doing updates like Anaheim.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe ICE watching Anaheim\u2019s doing is really happening in real time. I\u2019m definitely proud to see the City of Anaheim have a watch program,\u201d De Anda said. \u201cI don\u2019t know any other city that has a program like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Anaheim\u2019s updates sometimes include information about activity in nearby cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWednesday saw reported vehicle sightings in Santa Ana and just over the city line in Orange along Lincoln Avenue, but no reported detainments. Tuesday was quiet after Monday when one person was detained outside his home in an incident of targeted enforcement in a neighborhood near Euclid Street and Cerritos Avenue. Monday\u2019s incident was the first confirmed incident in Anaheim in more than two weeks,\u201d reads the April 2 update.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before the widespread raids kicked off last year, Santa Ana City Council members mulled over a notification policy that would\u2019ve disclosed enforcement activity days after it happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read: Santa Ana Officials to Assess Risks of Publicly Disclosing ICE Activity in the City<\/a>]\u00a0<\/p>\n But U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli warned the city against adopting the policy, threatening Santa Ana with a federal lawsuit<\/a> if they followed through and Santa Ana officials ultimately backed off.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, federal officials haven\u2019t publicly threatened Anaheim, which passed on becoming a sanctuary city years ago and instead proclaimed itself a welcoming city.\u00a0<\/p>\n De Anda said Anaheim\u2019s updates are timely \u2013 sometimes posted within minutes of deportation efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re doing the updates like 20, 30, 40 minutes after it\u2019s happened,\u201d DeAnda said. \u201cMe and Mike Lyster, the director of communications in Anaheim, we speak to each other a lot to confirm details on enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelsey Gordon, operations and advocacy director for the OC Rapid Response Network, echoed what De Anda said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen our volunteers are out responding to ICE verification sightings, we\u2019ve run into Mike Lyster for sure,\u201d Gordon said in an interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n OC Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who helped launch a legal aid fund<\/a> with his discretionary spending, said it\u2019s a positive step when cities publicly share information about ICE raids.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think any coordinated effort to provide information to the public is helpful and I\u2019m encouraged by more cities providing services at different levels and we know that all cities are unique,\u201d Sarmiento said, adding some smaller cities may not have the resources to do what Anaheim\u2019s doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m encouraged by those cities that continue wanting to look for efforts that make sense in their communities,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n A Unique Perspective<\/p>\n Late last month, Anaheim City Council members voted unanimously to roll out a $100,000 legal aid fund, directing the city manager to contract with a local nonprofit law clinic to help get legal representation to residents caught up in deportation sweeps.\u00a0<\/p>\n De Anda noted that Lyster and other city officials, like acting City Manager Greg Garcia, said it\u2019s critical to get legal aid to someone in the first 24 hours after they\u2019ve been detained \u2013 a perspective she hasn\u2019t heard from a city official before.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThsoe are critical hours where families are frankly struggling to figure out what has happened, where their loved one is and what to do next,\u201d Lyster told council members at the March 24 meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s providing immediate access to legal consultation,\u201d Garcia said at the meeting. \u201cMaking sure that we allow an opportunity for those who are detained to connect with a staff attorney.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n De Anda said city officials gained such insight through their daily updates and assisting families with things like rent, utilities and groceries \u2013 along with working with groups like the Rapid Response Network.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMike really did learn a lot from the Rapid Response Network, I heard him say the first 24 hours are crucial and he\u2019s absolutely right,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the March 24 meeting, Anaheim Councilman Carlos Leon \u2013 who spearheaded the city\u2019s legal aid program \u2013 said Lyster and other city officials have been constantly on the ground with impacted residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n Leon recalled an incident of a father getting deported while he and Lyster scrambled to assist the family late at night.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was sent to a place that had zero connection and at 9:30 at night I was on the phone with that family and so was Mike,\u201d Leon said. \u201cThat\u2019s what showing up looks like.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The councilman also noted how city staff has consistently worked all hours to help impacted residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day it\u2019s about showing up for families in need,\u201d Leon said. \u201cThey\u2019re really stepping up for our community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Councilwoman Norma Campos Kurtz said city staff largely rolled out the updates and other programs on their own after the council\u2019s initial vote to create aid funds.<\/p>\n \u201cYou did it without a direction from council \u2013 you didn\u2019t come to council and said may I. You saw a need in the community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/NZ6_1820-Enhanced-NR.jpg\")
Anaheim Chief Spokesman, Mike Lyster, during the council meeting at Anaheim City Hall on April 16, 2024. Credit: GIL BOTHWELL, Voice of OC.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/148A3004.jpg\")
Sandra De Anda, director of Policy and Legal Strategy at the OC Rapid Response Network on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, outside the Costa Mesa City Council chambers, calling for immigrant and tenants\u2019 rights ahead of the council meeting.<\/p>\n