In preparation for another Trump presidency, Los Angeles County officials will invest millions in funding for immigrants and transgender residents, who may be targeted by the incoming administration.
The deep-blue county's governing board passed a series of controversial proposals Tuesday in response to the president-elect's sexist rhetoric and his vow to crack down on the deportation of illegal immigrants.
“I have suspicions of sneaking, this is the one that will be the most [motions] that will come 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 is “surreal” to get California back on the defensive against the Trump administration. .
Another proposal, put forward by supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, asks for $5.5 million in continued funding for immigration law services. The proposal, which passed 4 to 0, would also create a regional task force focused on federal immigration policy and develop a campaign to educate immigrants about their legal rights.
“We know that in the coming months it will be very difficult for many of our friends and neighbors,” said Solis, noting that his office has received many calls from people in need of legal assistance. “We have seen this playbook – and we know what the consequences can be.”
LA County is home to an estimated 800,000 immigrants living here illegally, according to USC's Equity Research Institute, or about one in 12 people living in the county.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the board's only Republican, declined to vote after realizing that there has been a problem with immigration under the Biden administration, with some immigrants moving out of tents on Skid Row. He said he recently visited this place and met a 15-year-old mother who recently crossed the border.
“These families say the conditions in Skid Row are better than the ones they came from,” said Barger. “I want to be careful to frame this for what it is – we already have a big problem going on right now.”
Several lawmakers on Tuesday praised the county for moving quickly to put money behind its promise to be a safe haven for immigrants.
“Sometimes, jurisdictions will issue decisions with fancy words,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director of immigration and racial justice at the California Immigrant Policy Center, whose organization met with Solis' team shortly after Donald Trump was elected. to propose additional protections that the district may strike. “Actually, the district has concrete things to do.”
The city of Los Angeles, meanwhile, is moving forward with a plan to make it a “sanctuary city” by prohibiting city employees from being involved in state immigration enforcement.
LA County took similar action during Trump's first term, barring county officials from turning people over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a warrant.
But that did little to assuage the fears of many immigrants wary of deportation, advocates told the board Tuesday.
“Since the election, we have heard of many families being paralyzed by the uncertainty,” said Diego Rodrigues, CEO of Opereta. Alma Family Servicescommunity organization. It includes children who are afraid of seeing their parents deported or being deprived of the only country they know and love.”
Another proposal, from Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, passed unanimously Tuesday, would create a pilot program to support transgender organizations in LA County, funded with $7 million over two years. Such investments had long been sought by rights groups such as the TransLatin@ Coalition, founded by transgender women in LA.
The pilot program is expected to invest $4.5 million in groups that provide multiple services to the “trans, gender-expansive and intersex,” or TGI, community, preferably organizations led by TGI individuals. Spokesperson Horvath said the money will come from the district's general fund.
It would also include $2 million for an outside administrator who will review grant applications and help strengthen the training and capacity of grantee organizations, and $500,000 for a program ombudsman, according to the proposal.
Outside the county building before Tuesday's vote, dozens of people gathered and raised flags in support of the transgender “wellness and equity” initiative.
June Paniouchkine, legislative affairs coordinator for the TransLatin@ Coalition, said the money will go to groups that will “empower our community – housing, nutrition, employment, health, equal access” to government services.
“We know there's a political force trying to bring us down and bring us down, but we're here to say, 'Hell, no,'” TransLatina@ Coalition President and Chief Executive Officer Bamby Salcedo said to cheers and shouts.
The move comes as President-elect Trump has argued that the US should recognize only two genders – male and female – assigned at birth. He has promised to freeze federal funding for gender reassignment, which would limit access to medical procedures for transgender people who rely on programs like Medicaid.
And Trump has vowed to cut off Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals that provide sex care to young people. Medicaid and Medicare are the largest sources of funding for health facilities.
Horvath, who introduced the pilot program proposal in LA County, said it's “about making good on our words — not just standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, but giving them the tools and resources they need to succeed.”
The move drew some criticism at Tuesday's meeting. Another person argued in written comments that the testing program was discriminatory and that subsidies should be reserved to support small business owners.
Barger said he does not question the merits of the proposal but is concerned about the process followed, including the criteria for which groups can receive funding and how the $7-million figure was arrived at.
“The actual demand would be much higher,” said Barger, who ended up voting with the entire board to support the proposal.
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