Archbishop Jose Gomez launched a program on Wednesday that would provide assistance to families affected by the Southern California immigration enforcement raid.
The Family Assistance Program will administer assistance directly to individual parishes across the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who work to provide food, meals and prescription delivery to affected individuals.
“In many of our parishes, they fear, so there are fewer people coming than before,” Gomez told NBC Los Angeles. “They are afraid to go to the grocery store. They are afraid to go to church. They are afraid to go outside because they don’t know what will happen.”
The program will allow for ongoing support and direct support to support more than 200 parishes in their work, in order to distribute support in the “most effective and caring way possible,” Katherine Fraser said. Support varies from parish to parish.
With grassroots funding in all parishes, Fraser estimates the program is well above $100,000.
Businessman Rick Caruso joined Gomez at St. Patrick’s Church, announcing a $50,000 donation to the fund, highlighting his support for citizenship and a path to comprehensive immigration reform.
The Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Company is also donating toys for children, while the Baralta supermarket offers 10,000 grocery gift cards.
Those in need of assistance can contact their local parish or find the parish by zip code on the LA Catholic website, regardless of their religious tradition. Donations to the program can also be made online.
“We just pass by and don’t notice when people are suffering,” said Timothy Dyer, pastor of Fr. St. Patrick.
Gomez said the federal attacks challenge the “historical identity of the city and the religious mission of the church” and call for federal immigration reform.
He added that the parish is hoping to raids at parishes and schools.
Recent immigration enforcement projects in Los Angeles and elsewhere in Southern California are part of President Trump’s campaign promises to implement a massive deportation plan.
The administration highlights arrests that include undocumented individuals convicted of violent crimes. Those caught up in the nationwide attacks include asylum seekers, those who have continued visas and immigrants waiting for a day in immigration courts.
“It is very painful and very sad that we cannot come to church on Sundays.
In June, the archbishop publicly criticized the Trump administration’s aggressive policies and called for new conversations on immigration.
California has 10.6 million immigrants, more than any other state, according to the California Institute of Public Policy. More than 2.6 million undocumented immigrants live in California, according to a 2024 Department of Homeland Security report that relied on 2022 data. This number is probably high.
Most of the state’s immigrant population is in large coastal counties such as Los Angeles County, where around 3.5 million people, or around 35% of the county’s population, are immigrants.
According to the report, Los Angeles County has around 809,000 undocumented immigrants, with a population of 9.6 million.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles spans Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, covering 8,762 square miles of Southern California. It has parishes in 120 cities in Los Angeles.
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