Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced she will hand out hundreds of thousands of dollars to migrants affected by the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
Bass, 71, said the money will be distributed via cash cards that are loaded with a ‘couple hundred’ dollars on it.
The program is expected to start its rollout in a week, the Democrat leader said.
‘You have people who don’t want to leave their homes, who are not going to work,’ she said of migrants who fear ICE. ‘They are in need of cash.’
Almost 2,800 people have been arrested by ICE in LA as of earlier this week. If each were given $200, the program comes out at an estimated cost of $560,000.
Bass has not stipulated exactly how it will be funded beyond indicating that it will be partly supported by philanthropic donations. Daily Mail has contacted her office for comment.
Bass’ announcement comes after ICE raided Glass House Farms in Camarillo on Thursday, which left one migrant worker, Jaime Alanís, critically injured after he fell off a 30-foot building while running from agents. He later died.
Bass said she had spoken to immigrant families in her city who are only making ends meet with two incomes.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced she will hand out hundreds of dollars to migrants affected by the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids
Bass, 71, will hand out the money on cash cards that are loaded with a ‘couple hundred’ dollars on it. The program is expected to start its rollout in a week
‘Well, one income was lost in a raid when someone was detained,’ she said on Friday. ‘And this woman with her children now is concerned that she might face being evicted and being homeless.
‘So, it’s that type of emergency assistance.’
It is unclear what qualifications a person needs to enroll in the program.
Part of the program is being funded by philanthropic partners. Bass is also helping to organize food deliveries for these families, she said on Friday.
The program is similar to the 2020 one that then-Mayor Eric Garcetti ran during COVID-19 to help those struggling financially.
Garcetti offered up to $1,500 on the Angeleno Cards to thousands of residents.
Bass also sued the Trump Administration earlier this week over the ICE raids.
Los Angeles County joined eight other cities on Tuesday to sue the Republican-led government for unconstitutionally raiding their cities to racially profile citizens and arrest them without probably cause – breaking the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
The lawsuit includes Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi, as the nine cities accuse them of deploying agents into the cities to instill fear rather than protect the country.
‘These unconstitutional roundups and raids cannot be allowed to continue,’ LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said.
Jaime Alanís was working at Glass House Farms in Ventura County when ICE raided it and several migrants took off running. While trying to escape the raid after agents showed up armed, he fell 30 feet off a building and broke his neck and skull
Alanís was taken to the hospital and was on life support before he succumbed to his injuries on Friday
‘They cannot become the new normal. This cannot become routine, to send militarized troops into our streets without reasonable suspicion, without probable cause to round people up and take them away.’
Just the day before, a group of federal agents, who were armed, swarmed MacArthur Park and shut down a children’s summer camp.
In several raids across LA, many have been detained without reason.
‘How do we know the difference between this and a kidnapping,’ Bass criticized.
Last month, the city hit headlines for its anti-ICE protests, which the Trump Administration deeply criticized, with border czar Tom Homan even threatening to arrest Governor Gavin Newsom.
California lawmakers and the Trump Administration clashed over the deployment of the National Guard, as the president issued the command, but legally only Newsom can request their assistance.
Trump sent in 2,000 National Guard troops and placed 500 Marines on standby, while the LAPD has authorized the ‘use of less lethal munitions’ to regain control of the city.
Newsom slammed Trump, claiming ‘we didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved’.
Last month, the city hit headlines for its anti-ICE protests, which the Trump Administration deeply criticized and even threatened to arrest Governor Gavin Newsom. Trump sent in 2,000 National Guard troops and placed 500 Marines on standby (pictured: anti-ICE protests)
Newsom slammed Trump, claiming ‘we didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved’
Homan has repeatedly threatened Democrat officials who test him with arrest and said the same would be on the table for Newsom and Bass, confirming he would ‘say that about anybody’ who broke the law.
Newsom responded, sending an impassioned message directly to the border czar after Homan called him ‘an embarrassment to the state.’
‘Come and arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy. I don’t give a damn,’ the Democrat leader said.
‘He’s a tough guy. Why doesn’t he do that? He knows where to find me,’ Newsom added.
He then accused Homan of arresting children, rather than the ‘worst of the worst’ Trump has promised to deport.
‘Lay your hands off four-year-old girls that are trying to get educated,’ Newsom quipped. ‘Lay off people who are just trying to live their lives, pay their taxes, have been here 10 years.’
‘The fear, the horror… What the hell is this guy? Come after me, arrest me, let’s just get it over with,’ he said, calling the border czar’s ‘bloviating’ tiresome.
