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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced a new initiative to provide direct cash assistance to immigrants impacted by the Trump administration's ongoing immigration raids.
The funds will be distributed as cash cards valued at "a couple hundred" dollars each and is expected to become available within the next week, Bass said
Newsweek has contacted Bass' office for comment via email outside of office hours.
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Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has vowed to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history to address illegal immigration and border security. However, the policy has sparked concerns about its potential effects on the economy. The GOP's flagship immigration policy under Trump is causing people to avoid going to work amid fears over workplace raids.
California has become one of the key battleground states for immigration enforcement after President Trump directed ICE to increase operations in sanctuary states.
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What To Know
The cash assistance is intended for families directly impacted by the immigration raids. Mayor Bass highlighted the example of a family that faced potential eviction after one of its primary earners was detained by immigration authorities.
The program will be funded through private donations rather than city funds. Immigrant rights organizations, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, will handle the distribution of the cash cards.
According to the mayor's office, the city will coordinate efforts between donors and distribution partners, though specific eligibility criteria have not yet been announced.
Bass likened the initiative to the Angeleno Cards program launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, which provided emergency financial assistance to vulnerable residents in Los Angeles.
The cash cards announcement coincided with a new executive order signed Friday by Bass, directing all city departments to strengthen training and policies ensuring compliance with Los Angeles' sanctuary city law. This law prohibits using city employees or resources for civil immigration enforcement, except in cases of serious crime.
City departments have two weeks to outline updated protocols, Bass said.
The executive order also creates a working group to review the Los Angeles Police Department's approach to federal immigration enforcement and directs city staff to seek records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement on recent raids. The measures are part of a series of responses from city leaders and the mayor to a federal crackdown that has entered its second month in Los Angeles.
The American Immigration Council projects that the mass removal policy could carry a one-time cost of $315 billion. Furthermore, deporting 1 million individuals each year could lead to annual expenses reaching up to $88 billion.
What People Are Saying
Bass said at a press conference on Friday: "You have people who don't want to leave their homes, who are not going to work, and they are in need of cash."
California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, a Republican, told Newsweek: "Los Angeles is staring down nearly a $1 billion deficit, which means layoffs, cuts to vital services, and dangerously understaffed fire and police departments. Legal residents don't feel safe. Streets and sidewalks are crumbling. Trash piles up across the city.
"Yet instead of using her platform to raise private funds to close the city's deficit and fix these urgent problems, Mayor Bass is focused on securing cash donations for illegal immigrants, putting them ahead of the legal residents paying her salary.
"My question is simple: why isn't she fighting just as hard to help the city get back on track? Why do illegal immigrants get priority over the taxpayers she was elected to serve?"
Update 07/15/25, 4:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from state Senator Brian Jones.
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