Preparing for another Trump presidency, Los Angeles County supervisors will allocate millions of dollars to bolster support for immigrants and transgender residents, who could be targeted by the new administration.
The deep blue county board passed a series of resistance-themed motions Tuesday in response to the new president’s anti-transgender rhetoric and his commitment to illegally carry out mass deportations of immigrants in the country .
“I have a sneaking feeling that this is the first in a long series of [motions] that will come forward as the new administration presents its ideas on what will be best to make America great again – or not,” said Supervisor Holly Mitchell, adding that it was “surreal” to have California back on defending against a Trump administration. .
One motion, introduced by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, calls for $5.5 million in continued funding for immigrant legal services. The motion, which passed 4-0, would also create a county task force focused on federal immigration policy and develop a campaign to educate immigrants about their legal rights.
“We know that in the months to come, it’s going to get more difficult for many of our friends and neighbors,” Solis said, noting that his office has already seen an increase in calls from desperate people in need of legal services. “We have seen this playbook – and we know what the consequences can be.”
Los Angeles County is home to about 800,000 immigrants who live here illegally, according to the Equity Research Institute of USC, or about 1 in 12 county residents.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the board’s only Republican, abstained from the vote after pointing out that there was already an immigration crisis under the Biden administration, with some migrants landing in tents on Skid Row. She said she visited the area recently and met a 15-year-old mother who had just crossed the border.
“These families say the conditions in Skid Row are better than where they came from,” Barger said. “I just want to be careful to present this for what it is: We are already facing a serious crisis right now.”
Many advocates praised the county Tuesday for quickly investing money in its commitment to remaining a haven for immigrants.
“Sometimes localities issue resolutions that are just nice words,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director for racial and immigrant justice at the California Immigrant Policy Center, who said her organization met with Solis’ team almost immediately after the election of Donald Trump. to suggest additional protections the county could adopt. “The county actually has some concrete things to do.”
The city of Los Angeles, meanwhile, is moving forward with a plan to make it a “sanctuary city” by banning city employees from getting involved in enforcing federal immigration laws.
Los Angeles County took a similar step during Trump’s first term, prohibiting county sheriffs from transferring people to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a court warrant.
But that has done little to assuage the fears of many immigrants who are wary of deportation, advocates said Tuesday.
“Since the elections, we have heard from many families paralyzed by uncertainty,” said Diego Rodrigues, operational director of Alma Family Servicesa community organization. “Including children terrified of seeing their parents deported or themselves taken from the only country they know and love. »
Another motion, from Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, passed unanimously Tuesday, would create a pilot program to support transgender-serving organizations in Los Angeles County, funded with $7 million over two years. Such investment has long been sought by advocacy groups such as the TransLatin@ Coalition, founded by transgender women in Los Angeles.
The pilot program is expected to include $4.5 million for groups that provide a range of services to the “trans, multigender and intersex” or TGI community, preferably organizations led by TGI people. A Horvath spokesperson said the money will come from the county’s general fund.
It will also include $2 million for an outside administrator who will process grant applications and help build training and capacity for organizations that receive the money, as well as $500,000 for a program mediator, according to the proposal.
Outside the county building ahead of Tuesday’s vote, dozens of people gathered and waved flags in support of the transgender “wellness and fairness” initiative.
June Paniouchkine, legislative affairs coordinator for the TransLatin@ Coalition, said the money would go to groups that “are going to empower our community — to be housed, fed, employed, healthy, have equal access » with government resources.
“We know there is a political force that is trying to diminish us and devalue us, but we are here to say, ‘Hell no,’” said TransLatina@ Coalition President and CEO Bamby Salcedo , to cheers and shouts.
The move comes as President-elect Trump has argued that the United States should only recognize two genders – male and female – assigned at birth. He pledged to prevent federal money from being used for gender transition, which could limit access to medical procedures for transgender people who rely on programs such as Medicaid.
And Trump has pledged to cut Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to young people. Medicaid and Medicare are major sources of funding for healthcare facilities.
Horvath, who presented the proposal for the L.A. County pilot program, said it was “about putting our words into practice — that we not only stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, but that we give them the tools and the resources needed to thrive.”
The measure drew little criticism at Tuesday’s meeting. One person argued in written comments that the pilot program was discriminatory and that funding should instead be earmarked to support small business owners.
Barger said she did not question the validity of the proposal, but was concerned about the process behind it, including the parameters surrounding which groups could receive funding and how the figure for 7 million dollars had been reached.
“The actual needs could be much greater,” said Barger, who ultimately voted with the rest of the board to support the proposal.
