California Latino and Asian Pacific Islander Caucuses Announce Final Grant Recipients of Record $15 Million for Immigrant Services
(SACRAMENTO) – Today, Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León joined members of the California Latino and Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucuses, as well as a coalition of community advocates and nonprofit stakeholders, in announcing the final grant recipients of a record $15 million investment in immigrant services funding from One California.
The 2015 state budget included a record $15 million in funding for qualified nonprofits, giving them resources to provide education, outreach and legal services to help lawful permanent residents get citizenship and give legal aid for immigrants eligible for deferred action under the President’s Executive Orders.
“This is a wise investment for our state,” said Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León. “We fought hard to include funds for One California in the budget because it shows that California believes immigrants matter. This investment will lead to opportunities for new Californians which, in turn, will lead to making our state even greater than it is today.”
“Today, California is once again leading the way with significant and meaningful investments towards improving the lives of immigrants throughout the state,” said Luis A. Alejo, chairman of the Latino Legislative Caucus. “The Latino Caucus has a rich history of standing with California’s immigrant communities, and today’s formal announcement of the final grant recipients for One California funding reflects our commitment to helping those in our state achieve the American dream.”
“Funding for One California programs to serve our immigrant populations was a major policy priority for the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus,” said Assemblymember Ed Chau, a member of the API Caucus. “This kind of record investment in California’s growing and diverse communities can only help improve the lives of the people we serve and that helps California because we are all Californians.”
In the 2015-16 state budget, the Latino Legislative Caucus and the API Legislative Caucus, with Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León, fought to secure $15 million to develop a community-based model to assist eligible immigrants in applying for citizenship or deferred action. This became the One California program.
Assemblymembers David Chiu (D-San Francisco) and Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond), representing the California API and Latino Legislative Caucuses, held a similar event in San Francisco highlighting grantees that assist immigrants throughout the Bay Area earlier today.
Nearly 2.5 million legal permanent residents in California are eligible for naturalization. Additionally, more than 1.5 million immigrants in California are estimated to be eligible for administrative relief under Deferred Action for the Parental Accountability (DAPA) program and the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
One California relief will empower more than 44,000 lawful permanent residents to seek citizenship, buy homes and engage and invest in their neighborhoods and communities. One California will reduce the insecurity of immigrants and boost the security and educational achievement of our state’s future workers and leaders.
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) opened up an application process for the One California program in 2015 and tentatively awarded $15 million for partnerships with selected qualified nonprofit organizations with strong ties to immigrant communities to provide assistance in one or more of the following five service categories: (1) DACA; (2) DAPA; (3) Naturalization Application Assistance; (4) Legal Training and Technical Assistance Services; and (5) Education and Outreach Activities.
Today’s press conference formalized the grant awards and highlighted the services offered under the One California program.
Some of the grant recipients include: Access California Services; Asian Americans Advancing Justice; Catholic Charities of California; Central American Resource Center (CARECEN); Centro Community Hispanic Association; Korean Immigrants Workers Advocates; and the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic.
A complete list of the grant recipients can be found at the California Department of Social Services website.
Other participants in today’s press conference included: the California Community Foundation; California Forward; California Immigrant Policy Center; Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR); Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF); and National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).
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Contacts:
(De León) Xochitl Arrellano / Xochitl.Arellano@sen.ca.gov / (916) 651-4024 or
Claire Conlon / Claire.Conlon@sen.ca.gov / 916 651-4024
(Latino Caucus) Andrew Bird / Andrew.bird@asm.ca.gov / (916) 319-2030
(API Caucus) Andrew Medina / Andrew.Medina@asm.ca.gov / (916) 319-3686