The Santa Ana City Council voted Tuesday night to keep all of its planned community events on the calendar, but to cut funding to each event by 10% to create an Emergency Assistance Program for families impacted by federal immigration enforcement.

Mayor Valerie Amezcua originally proposed canceling eight major community events for the 2025-26 fiscal year to allocate the $1 million budgeted for the events to Santa Ana families affected by recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. This would have included canceling the Fourth of July event, which carries a $115,000 cost.

"We are currently in a crisis," Amezcua said. "This is about the needs of our community. If the father or mother, the breadwinner, is taken from their home, we do not want them to lose their residence."

She said funding is needed to help with rent, utilities, groceries, and legal expenses. The method of distribution was not established at Tuesday's meeting, but the mayor offered assurances that the city's previous COVID assistance program would serve as a template.

All council members present at the meeting supported creating a fund for affected families, but most did not support canceling the community events.

"I'm not going to be supportive of defunding events in the brownest city in Orange County and making the public choose between celebrating our culture or giving mutual aid; we should be doing both," Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez said. 

He noted that since the June 9 ICE raid in the city, celebratory events such as Juneteenth have taken place, with no reports of federal enforcement taking place.

Councilmember Thai Viet Phan held strong opinions about not canceling the Fourth of July and proposed cutting all programming by 10% and use that money for an assistance fund.

"As an immigrant, as someone who swore to become an American, I refuse to allow these ICE agents, these border patrol agents, and these federal agents from taking the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence from me," she said. "The Fourth of July does not belong to them, it belongs to all of us who live in this country and celebrate American Independence, and what it means to be American."

The seven-member council voted unanimously to allocate 10% of the $1 million budgeted for city events to establish a fund to support community members affected by federal immigration operations, with a plan to reevaluate the initiative in 90 days.

The City of Santa Ana's adopted FY25-26 budgeted community events include:

• Fourth of July
• Chicano Heritage
• Fiestas Patrias
• Noche De Altares
• Tet Festival
• Santa Ana Fun Run
• Movie Series
• Juneteenth