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City departments outline services and emergency aid for residents and businesses affected by ICE activity
Summary
City staff reported coordinated outreach, Know Your Rights campaigns, virtual services and emergency funds to help residents and businesses impacted by federal immigration enforcement; Family Source Centers and Worksource centers described program pivots and new grants to support housing and basic needs.
City departments told the Economic Development Committee on March 3 that they mobilized services and outreach after federal immigration enforcement activity affected residents and small businesses across Los Angeles.
Veronica McDonald, assistant general manager for Community Investment for Families, introduced staff who described monitoring and response efforts across 14 Worksource centers, 14 resource centers, 10 business source centers and seven day labor centers. Donnie Brooks, chief grant administrator, said the centers initially saw a slight downturn in walk‑ins following enforcement activity but reported enrollment had returned to expected levels by December. "We did notice a decrease in walk ins... but mid year, as of December, we're back on track," Brooks said.
Departments reported stepped‑up outreach including Know Your Rights sessions (more than 20 community presentations attended by over 2,250 people), expanded interpretation services in Spanish, Armenian, Chinese, Korean and indigenous languages via audio and video formats, and a youth ambassador pilot program to reach affected youth. Family Source Centers shifted to appointment‑based food distribution, mobile delivery and gift‑card distributions to avoid large public gatherings and to protect clients.
Staff said the city secured targeted aid: a $1.3 million award through La Casa to support housing assistance for impacted families and $1.6 million in philanthropic regional emergency funds distributed to about 2,200 households for rent, groceries and other urgent needs. Departments also noted challenges: federal funding rules (including WIOA requirements) create documentation requirements that can be hard to meet when clients fear sharing personal information, and there is currently no dedicated city grant specifically for businesses affected by raids.
Why it matters: The services and emergency funding described address immediate basic needs—food, housing and legal outreach—for families and small businesses affected by immigration enforcement activity; departments emphasized the need for continued resource identification to meet demand.
Next steps: Departments will continue virtual services and outreach, explore additional funding sources for impacted businesses and families, and coordinate with county and nonprofit partners; committee members concurred with the departmental recommendations and adopted the relevant motions.
