Chair Avilés Delivers Opening Statement on MOIA Budget and ICE Arrests
Committee on Immigration Chair Alexa Avilés delivers her opening statement, condemning recent ICE enforcement actions and calling for a historic $30 million increase in city funding for immigration legal services.
Thank you, Chair.
Good afternoon to Commissioner Ali and her team.
Thank you all for joining us.
Before we get started, I want to take a quick moment to thank the entire Council Finance Division and Committee staff for their efforts in preparing for today's hearings and all of the hearings alongside the finance chair.
I'm sending her all of my reserved energy to continue on through this budget process.
I also want to start off by condemning the horrific shooting that occurred at the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18th and stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters to say hate and violence against our vibrant immigrant communities will never be tolerated.
We offer our condolences to the families of the victims whose lives were taken.
Our immigrant communities continue to be under attack.
Last fall, we saw an uptick in street arrests by ICE, and recently the news publication The City reported that 800 New Yorkers were arrested by ICE between October 2025 and March 2026.
And they were not even the intended targets of immigration officers.
Last year, the council fought long and hard to secure a historic level of over 50 million for immigration legal services, doubling the city's investment to safeguard immigrant communities.
The council values the partnership through task force meetings it has formed since last year with Moya, the Office of Civil Justice, and DOE Project Open Arms in prioritizing funding and resources for our immigrant neighbors.
For fiscal 2027, the council is urging the restoration of last year's budget amount and an additional 30 million to further protect and enhance our city's immigration legal services in this time of great need I'll be repeating that number over and over again so you don't have to write it down no worries Commissioner Lee you played a critical role in securing that funding last year and we're asking you to continue your advocacy within the administration we look forward to an open and honest conversation today's hearing and I will now turn it back over to Chair Lee.