Long Beach leaders this week are expected to expand the city’s Justice Fund, which provides free legal services for immigrants and refugees facing deportation and other legal proceedings.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider awarding contracts worth a total of $800,000 to four organizations to provide legal aid, along with community outreach, education and support services.

The city created the Justice Fund in 2018, and the following year approved $250,000 for it, along with a $100,000 one-time grant from the Vera Institute of Justice. In its first two years, the program assisted 21 people, primarily from Mexico, as well as Guatemala, Honduras and Cambodia.

Since its inception, the fund has helped 70 people, “giving them more time with their family and a heightened sense of safety,” according to the city.

Officials are now looking to expand the program beyond legal aid to provide services that include filing applications for those who are not in removal proceedings but are seeking visas and Violence Against Women Act petitions.

The fund will also continue to provide defense in deportation cases, as well as basic needs assistance in the form of gift cards and other services.

On Tuesday, the City Council will consider awarding the following contracts to various groups who responded to a call for bids last fall:

• Al Otro Lado would receive $480,000 to provide legal services.
• ORALE ($122,500), United Cambodian Community ($75,000) and Filipino Migrant Center ($122,500) would provide support services, outreach, education and referral services.

The money being awarded Tuesday comes from the Long Beach Recovery Act, which funds economic and public health initiatives for those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city has also set aside $1.5 million in general fund money to pay for the program.