Skip to main content
County News Center | Office of Communications and Public Affairs
County News Center | Office of Communications and Public Affairs

County of Santa Clara Launches a Countywide Media Campaign in Support of Immigrants

January 19, 2018

County Elected Officials, County Executives, Consulates, and Community Based Organizations Reiterate Commitment to Immigrant Communities

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. – On the anniversary of President Trump’s Inauguration, the County of Santa Clara launched a Countywide Media Campaign to convey a unified message in support of immigrants in Santa Clara County. County elected officials, County Executives, Consulates, and Community based organizations joined forces today to demonstrate their commitment to echoing “One Voice for Immigrant Communities.”

The media campaign seeks to reach all immigrant communities across Santa Clara County, including recent arrivals, monolingual immigrants, the undocumented, women and LGBTQ individuals. Key information to reassure the immigrant community of the County’s support will be displayed on VTA buses, public transportation shelters and the County of Santa Clara Office of Immigrant Relations website. Materials will be shared with partners within and beyond Santa Clara County.

The media campaign message is clear and simple: the County of Santa Clara welcomes immigrants and recognizes their many contributions to our society. The campaign’s linguistically diverse content conveys the cultural richness of our region, with the purpose of improving the County’s ability to reach all residents and inform them of the multiple services that are available to them – regardless of their immigration status.

The speakers at the January 19th, 2018 press conference were Jeffrey V. Smith, M.D., J.D., County Executive; Miguel Marquez, County of Santa Clara Chief Operating Officer; David Campos, Deputy County Executive; and Maria Love, Director of the Office of Immigrant Relations. They were joined by Juan Manuel Calderón-Jaimes, Consul General of Mexico in San Jose; Ana Valenzuela, Consul General of El Salvador in San Francisco; Patricia Lavagnino, Consul General of Guatemala in San Francisco; and Denis Galeano Cornejo, Consul General of Nicaragua in San Francisco. The diplomats praised the County’s undeniable commitment and courage to defend the rights of immigrants living in Santa Clara County. Representatives of the County of Santa Clara Office of the Sheriff attended the press conference in solidarity with the campaign.

Facts about immigrants in Santa Clara County

  • Santa Clara County is one of the most diverse places in the world, with approximately 700,000 county residents (39% of the county’s population) born outside of the United States. Combined, these residents speak more than 80 major languages.
  • The top 10 languages spoken in Santa Clara County are: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Tagalog, Hindi, Mandarin, Korean, Telugu and Tamil, respectively.
  • Latinos account for more than a quarter of the residents in Santa Clara County; 25 percent of the county’s immigrants speak Spanish.
  • Foreign-born Latinos have some health advantages over US-born Latinos, but are also less likely to have health insurance.
  • The majority of immigrants in Santa Clara County come from Mexico, followed by India, Vietnam, China, The Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Iran, Japan and Russia.
  • In 2014, immigrants in Santa Clara County contributed an estimated $77 billion to the county’s economy through consumption and taxes.
  • According to estimates, the immigrant population of Santa Clara County contributed almost $3 billion in state and local taxes in 2014; this includes property, income, sales, and excise taxes levied by either the State of California or by municipal governments. Immigrant households also contributed $7 billion in federal taxes, $5 billion to Social Security and $1 billion to Medicare.
     

*Campaign fact sheet​

 

ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA

The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multi-cultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, the fifth largest county in California. With a $6.5 billion budget and more than 70 agencies/departments and more than 18,000 employees, the County of Santa Clara plans for the needs of a dynamic community, provides quality services, and promotes a healthy, safe and prosperous community for all. The County provides essential services including public health protection, environmental protection, medical services through Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, park services, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and scores of other services, particularly for those members of our community in the greatest need.

Visit us at: http://www.sccgov.org

Follow us:
Facebook: http://Facebook.com/County.of.Santa.Clara/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sccgov​​​

# # #

Media Contact: María Leticia Gómez​/Marina Hinestrosa​, Office of Public Affairs, (408) 299-5119.

Posted: January 19, 2018​​