Donald Trump’s signature policy during the campaign and over the past decade has been what many North Bay residents consider an extreme stance on immigration. Both Trump and his most fervent supporters have repeatedly called for “mass deportations” aimed at millions of people who have lived and worked in the US for years, if not decades.

Now, as the president-elect prepares to return to the Oval Office in January, immigrant advocates are fighting to shore up legal defenses and resources for that community in preparation for what could come under a second Trump presidency.

officials with Sonoma County Legal Assistance They said they are preparing for possible cuts to legal services and new federal policies targeting many of the vulnerable clients they serve.

Ronit Rubinoff, the nonprofit’s longtime executive director, who resigned from her position in September and now serves as director emeritus, said Trump had “hit the mark on legal aid” during his first term. , threatening to reduce federal funding for legal services and justice work.

Rubinoff estimated that about 30% of the organization’s funds that fund domestic violence prevention, veterans services and housing programs come from the federal government. Cuts to any of those programs are especially concerning as the state faces funding shortfalls, he said.

“We are facing a dark tunnel,” he said.

Leaders of the Future Moving Forwarda nonprofit that helps Latino immigrant and refugee families, dedicated air time Thursday on KBBF radio to a segment about the presidential election results and expectations Changes to the DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“If you are undocumented, remember that politicians come and go, but our success depends on helping everyone at the local level” organization said on social networks.

The nonprofit advised Dreamers — people who were children when they were brought to the United States and have lived under a series of federal pardons since Barack Obama’s presidency — to renew their applications now, during the final weeks of the Biden administration.

“DACA recipients who have six months left on their permits should renew now.” the group said.

Sunny Noh, interim executive director of Legal Aid, said it will be critical for community partners to come together to ensure that services remain accessible and that community members feel comfortable seeking services, regardless of their immigration status.

Legal Aid and its partners will look for opportunities to ramp up programming in response to changing policies at the federal level, Noh said, although it was too early to say what that might look like.

During Trump’s first term, for example, Legal Aid had a guardianship program that helped immigrant families develop a safety plan for minor dependents if parents were detained or deported. Similar programs could be reactivated.

“I think everyone right now is still a little floundering,” Noh said. “We want to give people space to process that and as soon as we can get our bearings we’ll start strategizing and get to work.”

Sonoma State University political science professor David McCuan noted that large-scale deportation of undocumented immigrants would be devastating to the local economy, particularly the local agriculture and wine industries.

Matt Heath, president of the Sonoma County Republican Party president, said the reaction to Trump’s promise of mass deportations is overblown. He said that when Trump talks about deporting immigrants he means “criminals.”

“I do not believe that our employers, our wonderful farmers and agricultural community and our construction companies here in Sonoma County are hiring criminals,” he said, “When we refer to criminals, we are not referring to the crime of entering this country illegally.” .

He said Trump is referring to crimes that immigrants committed in their own country and on the way to the border, as well as those they commit after crossing the border.

Doris Gentry, president of the Napa County Republican Central CommitteeHe said he does not believe local vineyards and wineries employ undocumented workers. He said Trump’s plan to deport undocumented people would have little local impact.

“I know we use seasonal workers on many of our farms, but even there we use documented workers. So that will have no effect on Napa,” he said. “I don’t see Napa losing workers due to the issue of mass deportations. And there are so many people looking for work that I don’t see that it would be a problem if we lost workers.”