Q&A with Nikki Fortunato Bas and Ray Colmenar
Photo Credit: Alameda County Together (ACT) for All
In Alameda County, 1 out of 3 residents is foreign born and half of the county’s children live in a household with at least one immigrant parent. In 2016, the Board of Supervisors declared Alameda County a Welcoming County, recognizing the value of immigrant integration and ensuring our policies, programs, and initiatives reflect the diversity and strength of our community. In response to the Trump administration’s threats towards immigrants, transgender people, and reproductive rights, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors launched Alameda County Together for All, or ACT for All in January 2025. Chaired by Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, and vice-chaired by Supervisor Elisa Márquez, this ad hoc committee brings together local government, philanthropy, and grassroots organizations to create coordinated responses to federal policy changes and budgets that harm our communities.
This year, Akonadi Foundation also launched its Oakland for All strategy aimed at strengthening community organizing, movement building, and supporting arts and culture, to foster a community where everyone can find belonging and an opportunity to thrive. We are investing in community organizations who are committed long term to building community and power among marginalized groups, including immigrant communities in Oakland and Alameda County. Akonadi is proud to support ACT 4 All and model the possibility for collaborative governance to help shape a more inclusive, safe community for all.
Read on for a Q&A between Supervisor Fortunato Bas and Akonadi’s president, Ray Colmenar on how this initiative came to life, what it’s already accomplished, and what they see ahead for Alameda County’s immigrant communities.
Q: At a time when national immigration policy remains uncertain, why is it important for local governments like Alameda County to take proactive measures through initiatives like ACT 4 All?
Supervisor Fortunato Bas: In 2021, the prior Ad Hoc Committee produced a report called The State of Immigrant & Refugee Rights in Alameda County, which provided a roadmap for ongoing support and progress toward uplifting all residents, regardless of their background. The report recommended establishing an Alameda County Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs. However, this recommendation was not implemented. So unlike our neighboring counties, we did not have permanent infrastructure for a rapid response hotline and other critical services.
The ACT 4 All committee has served to fill this gap in the short term. It meets monthly to hear from our community and County Agencies, and to take action. This has been an important forum toward building our capacity to defend our communities. To date, the Board of Supervisors has allocated over $7.5 million to immigrant rights by: re-establishing Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership, the County’s rapid response hotline (ACILEP), expanding legal services and deportation defense, and supporting community organizing and education. We have also made a commitment to a future Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs, by funding interim staff to coordinate services and support community engagement for creating the Office.
Q: Since launching ACT 4 All, what are some of the early outcomes or stories of impact that illustrate how this initiative is already making a difference for immigrant and refugee families in Alameda County?
Supervisor Fortunato Bas: When Trump was sworn in, Alameda County did not have a rapid response hotline. With the County’s and philanthropy’s investments, we launched the hotline in February at 5 days a week, and with the County’s additional investment in October, the hotline expanded to 7 days a week. Having a hotline to verify ICE enforcement has been a lifeline for the community because the need is so great. In 2019, hotline calls peaked at 71 calls in one month; this year, the calls peaked at 698 in June (based on available data through June 2025).
The legal services and deportation defense by ACCORD and the Public Defender’s Office are critical. The County also supports three coalitions which are vital to ensuring our community is informed and prepared, building power, not panic. Some examples of their impact:
- Alameda County Collaborative for Removal Defense (ACCORD), anchored by California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, has expanded legal services and multilingual outreach providing critical representation and conducting community education across the County, including provision of legal consultations and guidance on removal & detention process to 115 individuals.
- Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership (ACILEP), anchored by Centro Legal de la Raza, has reached more than 8,200 Alameda County residents through combined community education and outreach activities, including Know-Your-Rights (KYR) presentations, tabling events, and informational sessions.
- Alameda County United to Defend Immigrant Rights (ACUDIR), anchored by Trabajadores Unidos Workers United, has engaged in 1,548 one-on-one conversations in public spaces and neighborhoods across Alameda County, and trained 400+ residents through immigrant rights workshops and cultivated 30+ local leaders to build mutual aid networks and peer-led defense strategies.
Q: Akonadi has a long history of investing in movements for racial justice in Oakland. How does Akonadi Foundation’s support for ACT 4 All reflect its broader strategy to advance justice for immigrant and refugee communities?
Ray: I want to start by saying that what makes Oakland beautiful is its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. And that is manifested in its appreciation and celebration of the cultural diversity that has made Oakland strong and vibrant.
Akonadi’s support for Act 4 All is consistent with our long term commitment to building power for racial justice, and making sure that Oakland is a city where everyone belongs. Act 4 All stands out from other public private partnership efforts because of its investment in the Alameda County United to Defend Immigrant Rights (ACUDIR), a coalition of groups organizing immigrant communities. This pillar is aligned with Akonadi’s commitment to community based solutions, leadership development, and power building. Investing in community building and organizing is central to making change happen. Particularly in this moment, where fear and division is being fomented, we need all of our community members to come together as neighbors, as allies, to support each other, and be in solidarity with one another. We need love to overcome fear and division.
Q: Partnering with local government officials to advance systemic change involves managing some inherent tensions. What is the power and potential of aligning philanthropic and public resources to protect and uplift immigrant communities?
Ray: Philanthropy has an important role and responsibility in working effectively with public officials and community partners. For Akonadi, staying true to our mission and values is key and our guiding force in navigating these relationships. It’s not always the case that the interests of our community partners, the broader community, and our government officials, are 100 percent aligned. In the case of the ACT 4 All Committee, we had really strong alignment in serving the needs of Oaklanders. We had the leadership of Supervisors Fortunato Bas and Márquez and the support of the full Board of Supervisors in protecting the rights and well-being of our immigrant neighbors. The supervisors were also committed to being in partnership with community organizations, who had deep relationships, trust, know-how, and experience in working with community members.
Supervisor Fortunato Bas: This fall, the San Francisco Foundation created the Stand Together Bay Area Fund with a $10 million goal to help meet the immediate basic needs of immigrants and their families impacted by the detention and deportation crisis. Community advocates recommended creating such a basic needs fund. Myself and Supervisor Márquez contributed to and joined the fund and were able to tell our Board colleagues that philanthropy is meeting one of the recommendations from the community. In addition, Supervisor Márquez, who is leading the effort to create a new Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, secured $125,000 from philanthropy to support research and community engagement to create the Office. These two major commitments helped us secure support from the full Board to invest again in October as immigration enforcement surged around the country. The County’s total investment is now $7.5 million.
My advice is to build relationships with elected officials and public sector leaders who share your values, to leverage each other’s funds, move as quickly as possible given the urgency of this political climate, and to make multi-year commitments.
Q: As you look to the future, what does success for ACT 4 All look like to you, and how can community members, advocates, and partners continue to support and sustain this vision?
Supervisor Fortunato Bas: During the first half of this year, 1,316 people were arrested by ICE in our region. ICE’s budget will triple to $30 billion next year. While the recent ICE surge was called off for now, we must remain vigilant and be more prepared. This November, I introduced two action items to strengthen our ability to protect the safety and dignity of our immigrant community. ACT 4 All will discuss these items on January 15th and hopefully bring them forward to the full Board for a vote.
- Development of an Immigration Enforcement Response Plan that details rapid-response protocols among County agencies, community partners, and government entities to protect individual rights, ensure access to services, and promote public safety. This plan will include staff training, public communication strategies, and measures to safeguard access to County services, courts, hospitals, and healthcare facilities.
- Adoption of a County Policy for “ICE-Free Zones” establishing all County-owned and County-controlled properties as safe spaces free from immigration enforcement activities. The policy would require clear signage, physical barriers where appropriate, and consistent procedures for implementation and enforcement.
Longer term, success looks like immigrants knowing that our County and community have their backs; that Alameda County stands united in lifting up the diversity, dignity and constitutional rights of all our residents. We are an informed, prepared, and organized community, and therefore a safe community.
Ray: We know that at the end of the day, if we want a city where everyone can belong and thrive, we are going to need our government, our policies and systems to work for everyone. So, we need the capacity and ability of our community leaders and organizations to be able to not just pass policies, they’re going to need to be involved in implementation. This means the systems must also recognize that to solve real problems effectively, they’re going to need the wisdom and partnership with community leaders and organizations. I believe that ACT 4 All is an example of this type of real partnership.
