Two years after its launch, Orange County’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs celebrated its anniversary on Friday by recognizing a growing network of community groups, school districts, faith institutions and public agencies supporting local residents.
Held at Santa Ana’s Newsong Church, the anniversary event recognized 43 community partners and presented several awards to immigrant-owned businesses. Established in 2024 by the OC Board of Supervisors, the office also received a $500,000 contribution from Supervisor Doug Chaffee’s discretionary fund to help its launch.
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Raul and Rosalina Davis and their son Raul Davis, Jr. accept an Entrepreneurial Spirit Award during the second anniversary event for the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs in Santa Ana, CA on Friday, April 10, 2026. The family has owned the Tlaquepaque Restaurant in Placentia for 60 years. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Raul and Rosalina Davis and their son Raul Davis, Jr. accept an Entrepreneurial Spirit Award during the second anniversary event for the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs in Santa Ana, CA on Friday, April 10, 2026. The family has owned the Tlaquepaque Restaurant in Placentia for 60 years. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Since then, officials say the office has assisted more than 15,000 Orange County residents by connecting them to services such as housing, education, health care and employment.
The honorees on Friday included a diverse network of organizations, from legal advocates such as the Public Law Center and Immigrant Defenders Law Center to health providers such as CalOptima Health and Latino Health Access, as well as community groups such as VietRISE and Access California Services.
“Each person who is an immigrant or identifies as an immigrant or refugee is someone with their own story,” said Jose Serrano, director of Orange County’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs.
Serrano said his approach has been guided by a philosophy of service that takes into account “all of the different experiences and the layers of vulnerabilities” of those who seek assistance from his office. Having previously worked in case management at World Relief Southern California, as well as with the state’s Refugee Programs Bureau, he said those experiences helped him to understand the many faces of immigration — from individuals without a pathway to citizenship to those escaping hardship and rebuilding their lives in the United States as refugees.
“To have a cookie-cutter approach to service delivery would just maintain people in positions of vulnerability and not allow them to grow,” he said.
That philosophy extends beyond government offices and into the broader community, including local churches such as New Song, which emphasize the importance of fostering connection and helping individuals feel supported.
“Being here in the center of Santa Ana, it’s important that our building is not just a space that is used on a weekend for members, but that it’s actually for the community,” said Maribel Toan, a local and global pastor and executive director of The MIX Academy. “I think the worst thing is to feel like you’re alone … that there’s no one out there that sees you.”
Toan said the church values partnerships with the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and other community organizations because of the connections they create.
“As a person who came to the United States at a very young age, I saw how difficult my parents struggled to navigate systems,” Serrano said. “One of the things that was really important to me was how I could help ensure that people experiencing vulnerability have a different pathway toward achieving stability.”