Long Beach could soon provide undocumented immigrants added protection from federal authorities – though not as much as some activists would like.

The City Council on Tuesday will decide whether to approve the Long Beach Values Act, which would put Long Beach on an ever-growing list of sanctuary cities, and set in motion the creation of a legal-defense fund for those facing deportation.

“As long as Long Beach is one of the most diverse cities in the nation, I welcome a policy that shows strong support for our communities,” said Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez, who represents the 1st District in downtown. “I know we can work with our city departments and educational partners to build a better environment of inclusivity rather than fear.”

About 42 percent of Long Beach residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to 2016 U.S. Census Bureau data. The city also has approximately 20,000 Cambodians, the largest such population outside of Southeast Asia.

The act – which will go before the council about a week after the U.S. Justice Department sued California over its sanctuary status – goes beyond state law, prohibiting all city employees and departments, not just law enforcement, from collecting information on undocumented immigrants.

If the act passes, city officials would not be able to collect “sensitive information,” such as citizenship and immigration status, race and ethnicity, religion, and whether an individual is a victim or witness to a crime, according to a staff report.

Such information could be collected, however, if it “is directly related to a city service or function,” including prosecutions, the staff report said.

The act also aligns with state law – particularly Senate Bill 54, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October – by allowing information on those with previous felony convictions to be shared with immigration officials.

Those exceptions, said Deputy City Manager Kevin Jackson, are about “protecting the public’s health and safety.”

But activists have pushed back on that notion, deriding what they call “carve-outs” and urging the council to pass an act without exceptions in it.

“The exceptions include people whose offenses were decades ago and have changed their lives,” said James Suazo, an organizer with the Sanctuary Long Beach Campaign, which worked with the city to draft the act but wants it altered before adoption. “It’s double punishment.”

Last week, the city’s Human Relations Commission, at the urging of Suazo and other activists, voted to amend a letter of support it plans to send to the council – and will now also ask for the exceptions to be stripped.

“Law enforcement shouldn’t be in the business of deportations,” Suazo said.

At the meeting, staffers will also ask the council for direction on setting up a legal-defense fund. If directed, city officials will start a bidding process to find a nonprofit foundation that’d be willing to run a legal-defense fund on behalf of the city. City officials would have some oversight, Jackson said.

In the Long Beach and Lakewood area, there are 1,432 pending deportation cases, and 941 of those defendants have legal representation, according to a Syracuse University database that tracks deportations.

In the last three months, 79 cases have been filed in the area.

The defense fund would provide free legal services to anyone facing deportation, according to the staff report; the city would also donate $100,000 – hopefully spurring philanthropists to give to the fund, Jackson said.

The Sanctuary Long Beach Campaign, though, wants the city to beef up its role in the defense-fund: It wants the city to guarantee $600,000 annually to the fund, from both public and private sources. But if there are not enough donations to reach that goal, the city would cover the gap.

Suazo said $600,000 would provide legal defense for 120 people.

City officials want to “establish a partnership with the community,” Jackson said in response to Suazo’s suggestion. “We feel like we have taken a leadership role.”

Councilman Rex Richardson, who represents the 9th District in North Long Beach, said protecting immigrants is necessary to uphold the city’s values.

“I value protecting students as dreamers, keeping families together, exploring legal resources for those who need it, and advocating for laws that are fair for immigrant families,” he said. “That’s what I would want for my family.”