L.A. Unveils Cash Aid Program For Families Affected by ICE Raids: 'We Are a Proud City of Immigrants'

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has announced a new initiative to provide direct cash assistance to families impacted by recent federal immigration raids.

The effort is part of a broader response by city authorities to the Trump administration's ongoing immigration enforcement actions in Southern California.

The aid will come in the form of prepaid cash cards, which Bass told the Los Angeles Times would hold "a couple hundred" dollars and be available within a week. "You have people who don't want to leave their homes, who are not going to work, and they are in need of cash," she added.

The city will coordinate with immigrant rights organizations like the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles to distribute the cards, using funds from philanthropic partners rather than city resources.

The mayor compared the initiative to the "Angeleno Cards" program launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to support residents in financial distress. Eligibility criteria for the new cards have not yet been publicly detailed.

Bass also signed an executive directive instructing all city departments to enhance their training and protocols to uphold Los Angeles' sanctuary policy, which prohibits city employees and property from being used for immigration enforcement activities, except in cases involving serious crimes. Departments have two weeks to submit updated plans.

"We are a proud city of immigrants," Bass said in a statement. "With the Trump administration signaling that they will ratchet up their chaotic approach, I'm making sure we deploy every resource and tool available within the city to ensure that we are supporting immigrant communities."

The directive also establishes a working group to review the Los Angeles Police Department's longstanding policy against initiating immigration enforcement, and calls for the city to file Freedom of Information Act requests seeking records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement about recent raids.

These actions come as the city and county of Los Angeles, along with several other municipalities, have moved to join a lawsuit led by the ACLU and other groups which alleges that the federal government's immigration sweeps are unconstitutional and have harmed local communities. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 1,618 people were arrested for deportation in the region between June 6 and June 22.