County of Santa Clara Supports State Bill to Fund Local Legal Efforts Against Trump Policies

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif – County officials strongly support a new state bill introduced this week that aims to bolster the funds available to local jurisdictions – including the County of Santa Clara – to legally protect residents from policies instituted by the incoming Trump administration.

Senate Bill X1-1, authored by Senate Budget Committee Chair Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), would provide $10 million in grants to county and city attorneys around the state to support filing civil actions against the federal government “in order to protect reproductive health, environmental justice, LGBTQ civil rights, immigrant rights, or other vulnerable communities.”

County of Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said the grants, if approved, will augment and align with the County’s internal actions, such as the $5 million in additional funding for immigrant defense approved by the Board of Supervisors this week. The County is also doing an intensive examination of other measures that can be taken ahead of the January 20 inauguration of the new president. 

 “We are encouraged by what’s happening at the state legislative level to prepare for the multitude of threats fomenting within the incoming administration,” LoPresti said. “Local governments play a vital role in defending their residents and that includes challenging policies through legal action; Senator Wiener’s proposal is a welcome assist toward those ends.”

In addition to the $10 million for local public law offices, the bill would provide $25 million in grants to legal aid organizations that defend residents from matters such as deportation. This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom also proposed to allocate $25 million to state agencies and the California Department of Justice as a defense fund against Trump policies.

The County of Santa Clara is no stranger to litigation defending diverse communities against actions taken by Trump. During his first term, the County of Santa Clara and San Francisco jointly challenged – and secured the first nationwide injunction – defeating Trump’s executive order to withhold funds from cities and counties that do not help him deport immigrants.  

Santa Clara County and San Francisco also filed the first lawsuits challenging Trump’s public charge rule, winning an injunction which prevented the Administration from requiring a wealth test for immigrants entering the country or seeking to adjust their immigration status. The County of Santa Clara also joined Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City in supporting a lawsuit challenging a travel restriction aimed at majority-Muslim nations. 

Outside of courts during the first Trump term, the County funded immigration legal services and programs to educate the community about their rights, launched the “One County - One Future” campaign, and implemented the Rapid Response Network – a community defense project developed to protect immigrant families from deportation threats. 

County Executive James R. Williams applauded the state efforts to secure funding and reaffirmed the County’s commitment to resisting unjust federal actions.

“We are ready to protect our community, and we know this fight will take considerable resources,” Williams said. “It is heartening to know that we have representatives at the state level who are equally committed to pushing back at the assaults on our values that we know are forthcoming.” 

The State Senate is expected to consider X1-1 in January 2025.  The funding would support litigation activities by local civil prosecutors, including members of the Civil Prosecutors Coalition, which is made up of many of the largest city attorney and county counsel offices in California, representing over 40 percent of California’s population and millions of residents throughout those jurisdictions. 

These offices employ thousands of the state’s top lawyers and legal professionals, and have legal authority to prosecute civil cases on behalf of the People of the State of California. Members include the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office, San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, Oakland City Attorney’s Office, San Diego City Attorney’s Office, San Jose City Attorney’s Office, Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office, and the San Diego County Counsel’s Office.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

María Leticia Gómez / Eric Kurhi, Office of Communications and Public Affairs

408-299-5119, [email protected]