October 20, 2026
Oaklandside: The cost of one Oakland father’s deportation
[…] Last year, when Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard and immigration agents in the Bay Area, regional political leaders and the San Francisco Foundation — an El Tímpano funder — came together to launch the Stand Together Bay Area Fund. The initiative gives urgent financial assistance to eligible families who are unable to pay rent or buy food after the deportation or detention of a breadwinner, as well as people who have lost income because fear of enforcement is keeping them from work.
The San Francisco Foundation administers the fund and distributes it in grants to trusted community-based organizations. So far, the fund has raised $3.6 million, over a third of its $10 million goal, Judith Bell, San Francisco Foundation’s chief impact officer, said in an interview. As of August, 626 households and at least 2,000 individuals across the region have received assistance, according to a Foundation spokesperson.
But this year fewer donations have come in and as a result, the foundation is scaling back fund distribution across its partners. “This is part of the tragedy that’s underway,” Bell said. “We don’t have enough resources, so we have given as much as we can.”
