Statement

We are writing to share an important update from the Orange County Rapid Response Network (OCRRN).

First and foremost, we want to acknowledge the following: Over the last 15 months, we have witnessed our communities coming together to take care of each other in the face of the most violent immigration enforcement seen in decades. Collectively, our volunteers, community partners, and impacted families have cultivated spaces that generate information sharing and provide legal, emotional, and economic support for one another. It takes all of us working to end surveillance and overcriminalization of our communities. The Orange County Rapid Response Network (OCRRN) is another thread in the tapestry of this collective. We appreciate all of the love, support, feedback, criticisms, and call-ins this fight has brought to our doorstep. It has been, and continues to be, an honor to be part of a community that protects itself.

OCRRN was created as a rapid response and organizing network under the first Trump Administration to respond to dehumanizing immigration enforcement actions and policies. Our work is grounded in participatory defense, a community organizing model. As immigration enforcement intensified over the last year, OCRRN has engaged more community members in mutual support than at any time in our organization’s history.

While we honor and welcome folks joining our space, it is clear we need to strengthen our internal systems to sustain this work. It has become increasingly difficult to respond to and collaborate around evolving community needs without stronger infrastructure. It has also revealed areas of growth both in building with Black communities and being in relationship with volunteers in ways that are holistic and rooted in care and accountability. Internal conflicts came up for which we didn’t have the tools to navigate; for those reasons, we caused harm. Thus, OCRRN will enter a period to Reflect, Repair, and Rebuild. We will operate at limited capacity in order to address these challenges and achieve more sustainable systems, improve capacity, and move in better alignment with our values.

This was not a decision we made lightly. Along with many people and organizations, we are part of a historic community defense system in Orange County. There were many before us, and there will be many after us carrying the work. We lean into that knowledge and inheritance now. This pause will allow the network to focus on addressing anti-blackness in our spaces, strengthening accountability, building intentional infrastructure based on our 2025 experiences, learning how to better transform systems, and nurturing our relationships across our community.

We understand that we play a role in our defense against fascism and immigration enforcement, and that if we are operating in any manner that disrupts community solidarity and sustainability, then we are participating in harming community. This pause may bring discomfort for a moment, but we believe it will strengthen us all in the long term. It is not a retreat from community defense; it is an act of resistance that gives us the opportunity to slow down, reflect, and build the intentional infrastructure needed to sustain our work.

To strengthen our internal structure, we will strive to improve coordination across member organizations, clarify roles and responsibilities, strengthen communication systems, and build other infrastructure necessary to support our communities long term. While we focus on this internal work, OCRRN will compile and share resources for community members. For more information, please review our frequently asked questions (FAQs)

We hope that after this period, we can move in better alignment with our values, including the original vision of the network to build long-term power by and with directly impacted people and their loved ones. We hope to map out accountability practices rooted in care. We hope to address the interpersonal harm by non-Black folks to Black and directly impacted folks. We hope to clarify our practices of communication and accountability to meet our volunteers, partners, and community members exactly where they are, and provide direct support where needed to make way for folks’ autonomy. We will strive to:

• Answer to the community about our capacity and limits;
• Hold our relationships with care and respect; and most importantly;
• Move forward with love and the power that lies in the hands of those directly impacted by this regime.

OCRRN remains committed to defending immigrant communities and confronting immigration enforcement in Orange County. Strengthening the network’s internal foundation is necessary so this work can continue in a way that is sustainable for the community we support, and the organizations and volunteers that make up the network.

For more information about our Rebuilding period, please refer to our FAQs, and list of resources.