ABOUT US
Immigrants Are LA (IRLA) is a coalition of grassroots immigrant organizations that launched a campaign in 2021 to ensure immigrants got their fair share of Los Angeles County’s portion of federal COVID relief and, eventually, could become fully integrated into Los Angeles County’s budget process.
As the historic American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) took shape in Congress, more than 100 forward-thinking, diverse organizations, guided by the California Community Foundation’s Immigrant Integration Task Force, banded together as IRLA to present an agenda of immigrant-centered budget priorities to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who would decide how to spend $1.9 billion, a record for the county, in ARP funds.
Over 18 months, IRLA’s advocacy and organizing resulted in the county dedicating more than $163 million to programs that include or focus on immigrants. Later, as that process wound down, IRLA assumed its long-term mission of integrating immigrants into the life of the county by making them fully visible in its budget.
Our Fiscal Year 2025-26 DEMANDS
Immigrants are vital to LA County’s cultural richness, economic growth, and resilience. Yet barriers persist when accessing programs and services, including lack of information about resources, long wait times for services in non-English languages, mistrust of government agencies, and application inefficiencies.
Equitable resource allocation is not just fair—it strengthens the County as a whole. This 2025, IRLA released its own immigrant-centered budget requests for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, focusing on four areas of need: access to vital services, housing, worker protections, and the social safety net.
The requests, arising from needs identified through listening sessions of IRLA member organizations and their members, are IRLA’s contribution to the county’s yearly budget process. IRLA member organizations began the year engaging in conversation with supervisors’ staff, and they have sent a formal letter detailing IRLA’s immigrant-centered agenda. Here are the requests, by area of need:
Improve Immigrant Access to Vital Services
Systemic challenges such as language barriers, fragmented information, and insufficient support make it difficult for immigrants to navigate and benefit from essential programs and services.
Recommendations:
Streamline Services: Create centralized systems for accessing information, reduce strict eligibility criteria, and improve transportation/digital infrastructure.
Enhance Language Access: Expand multilingual resources and reduce wait times for non-English services.
Collaborate with CBOs: Strengthen partnerships to ensure timely, clear communication about programs & services.
Address Housing Instability
Immigrants are disproportionately impacted by housing instability, with high rent burdens, overcrowding, and barriers to state and federal programs.
Recommendations:
Expand the Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool (FHSP): $20M to stabilize 6,000–8,000 immigrant families at risk of homelessness.
Leverage Measure A Funds: Address gaps in housing assistance without restrictive federal/state criteria.
Strengthen Worker Protections
Immigrant workers face rampant wage theft and retaliation when reporting violations, costing LA workers $2.5B annually.
Recommendations:
Allocate $3M to expand the Office of Labor Enforcement (OLE) to increase investigations and outreach.
Direct OLE to research feasibility of creating the Worker Justice Fund. The feasibility study must be completed within 120 days of BOS request.
Build a Social Safety Net for Aging Immigrants
Undocumented seniors face growing financial insecurity, with no access to retirement safety nets despite contributing $2B annually in taxes.
Recommendations:
Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI): $12M pilot to provide $1,000/month to undocumented seniors aged 65+.
Expand ITIN Services: $4M to increase access to Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, enabling immigrants to access tax credits and savings tools.
GET INVOLVED
Join IRLA’s campaign to ensure that immigrants are included in Los Angeles County’s regular budget!
Here’s how to get involved.
CLICK TO EMAIL
Here’s what you need to
contact your supervisor to demand the county #FUNDIMMIGRANTS!
TAKE ACTION
Join our advocacy! Check out the tool kit below!
IRLA Steering Committee
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Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
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Council of Mexican Federations in North America (COFEM)
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Pilipino Workers Center (PWC)
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The TransLatin@ Coalition
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Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA)
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Inclusive Action for the City
Join OUR COALITION
We are community-based organizations, immigrants’ rights groups, faith-based groups, and direct service providers advocating for a just recovery for all Angelenos.
ACLU Foundation of Southern California
African Communities Public Health Coalition
Altamed
American Indian Movement So Cal
Antelope Valley League of United Latin Americans
APAIT - A Division of Special Service for Groups
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles
Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council
Asian Prisoner Support Committee
ASILO
Bet Tzedek Legal Services
Building Skills Partnership
C. S. H.
California Community Foundation
California Immigrant Policy Center
Carlos Bulosan Book Club
Central American Resource Center (Carecen Los Angeles)
Centro Cha Inc. Long Beach Community Hispanic Association
Children’s Institute
Clean Carwash Campaign
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Cofem Council of Mexican Federations
Communities United For Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ)
Community Coalition
Council On American-islamic Relations, Greater Los Angeles (CAIR-LA)
CURB
Equality California
Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project
Faith And Community Empowerment (Formerly Kccd)
Families In Schools
Fathers & Families Of San Joaquin
Filam Arts
Filipino American Service Group, Inc
Filipino Human Rights Alliance (FAHRA) - Los Angeles
FWC
Golden State Opportunity
Ground Game LA
Immigrant Defenders Law Center
Immigration Resource Center Of San Gabriel Valley
Inclusive Action For The City
Inland Coalition For Immigrant Justice
Interfaith Refugee & Immigration Service (IRIS)
International Rescue Committee-Los Angeles
Juarez Consulting Inc
Justice for Filipino American
Veterans (JFAV)-USAKheir Clinic
Khmer Girls in Action
KIWA
LA Voice
LCLAA LA Chapter
Long Beach Forward
Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition
Los Angeles Black Worker Center
Me Too Survivors March
InternationalMental Health America of Los Angeles
Mexican American Opportunity
Foundation (MAOF)MILPA
Mirror Memoirs
MOTHER MOVEMENT
National Day Laborer Organizing
NetworkNational Immigration Law Center
Occupy ICE L.A
Para Los Niños
Parent Engagement Academy
Pars Equality Center, Los Angeles
Philippine Women's Center
Pilipino Workers Center
Pillars of the Community
Pomona Economic Opportunity Center
Proyecto Pastoral
Restaurant Opportunities Center
of Los AngelesRevolve Impact
SAHARA
SALVA
Search to Involve Pilipino
Americans (SIPA)SEIU United Service Workers West
Somos Familia Valle
South Asian Helpline and
Referral AgencySouth Asian Network
Southwestern Law School -
Community Lawyering ClinicSt. John's Well Child & Family Center
Tender Loving Care Family
Caregiver Support GroupThe Black Alliance for
Just Immigration (BAJI)The TransLatin@ Coalition
UCLA Immigrant Family Legal Clinic
UCLA Labor Center
UFCW Local 770
USC Equity Research Institute
Venice Family Clinic
YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles
Young Center for Immigrant
Children's Rights
