Santa Ana is the first city in Orange County to pioneer an immigrant legal defense fund that ensures legal representation for immigrant families in the city facing detention and deportation. The Santa Ana City Council approved the program in 2017 right after the city declared itself a sanctuary city for immigrants and partnered with the SAFE Network from the Vera Institute of Justice, which is composed of 12 jurisdictions nationwide that have similar programs like Santa Ana. Immigrant Defenders Law Center with the support of the program has provided legal representation to 29 immigrant residents of Santa Ana facing removal proceedings.
The program also enjoys broad support from likely voters in the city, a poll conducted in 2018 by America’s Survey Company and analyzed by UC San Diego professor Dr. Tom Wong found that 64.5% of Santa Ana voters support or strongly support it, with Democrat, Republican and Independent voters included in the survey.