RepresentLA

RepresentLA is sponsored by County of Los Angeles, Office of Immigrant Affairs. RepresentLA is a legal defense program that provides legal help to immigrants in Los Angeles County. It aims to provide due process and legal representation for the county's most vulnerable residents.

RepresentLA: Capturing the Program's Direction and Impact Since its Inception - USC Equity Research Institute (ERI) USC Equity Research Institute (ERI) RepresentLA: Capturing the Program’s Direction and Impact Since its Inception USC Equity Research Institute In July 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion that adopted the recommendations of the L. A.

County Office of Immigrant Affairs (OIA) to create the RepresentLA program, building on its predecessor, the Los Angeles Justice Fund.

Adopting the framework set forth in the report titled, Proposal for a Los Angeles Immigrant Community Legal Defense Program , RepresentLA is a merit-blind program that provides funds to organizations providing legal representation for removal defense and affirmative immigration relief, as well as social support services for clients and their families.

The following are RepresentLA contractors and sub-contractors that have actively provided legal and social services to the immigrant community for the past few years: Al Otro Lado, Affirmative Asylum Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Affirmative and Removal Defense Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles (CARECEN-LA), Affirmative and Removal Defense Council on American-Islamic Relations-CA (CAIR), Removal Defense Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project (Esperanza), Affirmative Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), Removal Defense Los Angeles LGBT Center, Removal Defense Public Counsel, Removal Defense Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC), Affirmative Labor Trafficking TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC), Removal Defense University of Southern California Gould School of Law (USC), Removal Defense This deliverable was prepared for the County administrator of the program, the County Office of Immigrant Affairs, to capture the program’s direction and impact since its inception.

This deliverable includes demographic data on immigrant Angelenos; key takeaways on the importance of legal representation; an overview of the RepresentLA program; demographic and case activity data for RepresentLA clients since the program’s launch; and data from a wellness survey distributed to contractors and sub-contractors. The report concludes with key factors to consider for the program’s continuation.

As of July 2024, RepresentLA had provided critical services, including legal orientation and pro se services, to 2,144 vulnerable immigrants who otherwise would not be represented. Indeed, about 14% of RepresentLA clients identified as LGBTQ+. Attorneys are a lifeline to clients—71 families and 172 clients were referred to social services (as of July 2024)—but funds to hire in-house social workers are an urgent need.

Navigating a complex and ever-changing immigration system warrants funding for organizational capacity, technical assistance, and living wages—this is especially important in retaining attorneys who experience significant burnout. Due to this, RepresentLA has pivoted to respond to the moment in time and the needs of immigrant Angelenos.

Despite all the challenges contractors and sub-contractors face in providing legal services, they continue to achieve positive case outcomes for their clients—not only in the form of relief but also in providing competent counsel throughout challenging legal processes and the cancellation of removal proceedings, among others.

RepresentLA has expanded the infrastructure of legal services—that is critical in responding to a changing political landscape—yet the need continues to far outweigh the availability of resources. RepresentLA has been key in providing critical services to vulnerable and diverse immigrant communities that contribute so much to Los Angeles County but are often given so little in return.

As such, improving and adequately funding the resources that have already been created is key in maintaining the immigration legal services infrastructure of Los Angeles County and navigating an everchanging political landscape. Read the LA County’s Consumer & Business Affair’s November 2024 status report on the RepresentLA program here, 2024-11-07-Status-Report-on-RepresentLA-Program_rc. pdf .

Read our other publications by research area Immigrant Inclusion & Racial Justice Our work on immigrant inclusion and racial justice brings together three emphases: scholarship that draws on academic theory and rigorous research, data that provides information structured to highlight the process of immigrant inclusion over time, and engagement that seeks to create new dialogues with government, community organizers, business and civic leaders, immigrants and the voting public to advance immigrant inclusion and racial equity.

Economic Inclusion & Climate Equity In the area of economic inclusion, we at ERI advance academic theory and practical applications linking economic growth, environmental quality, and civic health with bridging of racial and other gaps; produce accessible and actionable data and analysis through the data tools; and establish research partnerships to deepen and advance the dialogue, planning, and actions around racial equity, environmental justice, and the built environment.

Social Movements & Governing Power ERI’s work in the area of governing power includes: conducting cross-disciplinary studies of today’s social movements, supporting learning and strategizing efforts to advance dialogues among organizers, funders, intermediaries, evaluators, and academics, and developing research-based social change frameworks and tools to inform—and be informed by—real-world, real-time efforts towards a vision of deep change.

In 2020, the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII) merged to form the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI). The full list of publications published under our previous and current names can be found in our publications directory. The USC Equity Research Institute welcomes your partnership and financial support.

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