Donald Trump’s signature policy during the campaign and over the past decade has been what many North Bay residents consider an extreme stance on immigration. Both Trump and his most ardent supporters have repeatedly asked “mass deportations” targeting millions of people who have lived and worked in the US for years, if not decades.

Now, as the president-elect prepares to return to the Oval Office in January, immigrant advocates are scrambling to shore up legal defenses and resources for that community in preparation for what could come under a second Trump presidency.

Officials with Sonoma County Legal Aid have said they are bracing for potential cuts to legal services and new federal policies targeting many of the vulnerable clients they serve.

Ronit Rubinoff, the nonprofit’s longtime executive director, who stepped down in September and is now director emeritus, said Trump had “turned a blind eye to legal aid” during his first term, threatening to cut funding federal for legal services and justice work.

Rubinoff estimated that about 30 percent of the organization’s funding that pays for domestic violence prevention, veterans services and housing programs flows from the federal government. Cutting any of these programs is especially concerning as the state faces funding shortfalls, she said.

“We’re looking at a dark tunnel,” she said.

Lideres del Futuro Avanzandoa nonprofit organization that helps Latino immigrant and refugee families, devoted air time Thursday on KBBF radio to a segment on the presidential election results and expectations changes for the DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“If you are undocumented, remember that politicians come and go, but our success depends on everyone’s help at the local level.” the organization said on social networks.

The nonprofit advised Dreamers — people who were brought to the United States as children and have lived under a patchwork of federal exemptions since Barack Obama’s presidency — to renew their applications now, in the final weeks of the Biden administration.

“DACA recipients with six months left on their permits should renew now,” said the group.

Sunny Noh, acting executive director at Legal Aid, said it will be critical for community partners to come together to ensure services remain accessible and that community members feel comfortable seeking services regardless of their immigration status.

Legal Aid and its partners will look for opportunities to ramp up programming in response to changing policies at the federal level, Noh said, though it was too early to say what that might look like.

During Trump’s first term, for example, Legal Aid had a guardianship program that helped immigrant families develop a safety plan for dependent minors if their parents were detained or deported. Similar programs could be revived.

“I think everyone right now is still in turmoil,” Noh said. “We want to give people space to process this, and as soon as we can get our bearings, we’ll start strategizing and get down to business.”

Sonoma State University political science professor David McCuan pointed out that mass deportation of undocumented immigrants would be devastating to the local economy, especially the local agriculture and wine industries.

Matt Heath, President Sonoma County Republican Party president, said the backlash to Trump’s commitment to mass deportations is overblown. He said that when Trump talks about deporting immigrants, he means “criminals.”

“I don’t think our employers, our wonderful farmers and our agricultural community and our construction companies here in Sonoma County are hiring criminals,” he said, “When we’re talking about criminals, we’re not talking about the crime of getting into it. country illegally.”

He said Trump was referring to crimes committed by immigrants in their own country and on the way to the border, as well as those they commit after crossing the border.

Doris Gentry, President of Napa County Republican Central Committeesaid he doesn’t believe local vineyards and wineries employ undocumented workers. She said Trump’s plan to deport undocumented people would have little local impact.

“I know we use seasonal workers on many of our farms, but even there we use documented workers. So that’s not going to have an effect on Napa,” she said. “I don’t see Napa losing workers to mass deportation. And there are so many people looking for jobs, I don’t see it being a problem if we lose workers.”