CVCF awarded $500,000 in state funding to support local immigration advocacy organizations
On October 22nd, Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria awarded $500,000 in state funding to the Central Valley Community Foundation. CVCF will allocate 100% of the funds to organizations providing aid to the local Southeast Asian immigrant community. CVCF selected organizations based on input from Fresno DRIVE Senior Program Officer julie vue, a longtime advocate for immigrant rights whose deep working relationships with these organizations informed the selection. She most recently moderated the Southeast Asian immigration panel at the August 2026 Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC) conference.
“We're happy to be able to partner with the Foundation because I know that julie has really stepped up to work with the Southeast Asian organization collaborative to acquire additional resources to better serve the Southeast Asian community, which is also being significantly impacted by the immigration enforcement of the Trump administration,” Assemblymember Soria said. In total, $3 million in state funding was awarded to local organizations providing support to the immigrant community.
Per the California Immigrant Data Portal, ICE arrests of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Californians, with no criminal record, skyrocketed from 19% in 2024 to 54% in 2025 to 64% in the first few months of 2026. The $500,000 will be awarded to Cal Defense, Fresno Immigrant and Refugee Ministries (FIRM), Hmong Innovating Politics, Laotian American Community of Fresno, The Fresno Center and United Khmer Cultural Preservation. Stay tuned for updates on the impact of this funding by subscribing to the Fresno DRIVE newsletter here and follow Fresno DRIVE on Instagram and Facebook @fresnodrive.
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