In preparation for President Trump’s re-election, Los Angeles County supervisors will pour millions of dollars into increasing support for immigrants and transgender residents who may be targeted by the incoming administration.
The Deep Blue County Board of Supervisors passed a flurry of resistance-themed motions Tuesday in response to the president-elect’s anti-transgender comments and his pledge to carry out illegal mass deportations of immigrants in the country.
“I have a sneaking suspicion that this is the first of many things to come. [motions] That will become clearer as the new administration develops its ideas about what is, or isn’t, best to make America great again,” said Superintendent Holly Mitchell, adding that California’s defense against the Trump administration He added that it was “surreal” to return to .
One of the motions, filed by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, calls for $5.5 million to continue funding legal services for immigrants. The motion, which passed 4-0, also creates a county task force to focus on federal immigration policy and a campaign to educate immigrants about their legal rights.
“We know that the coming months will make things even more difficult for many of our friends and neighbors,” Solis said, adding that her office has many desperate people in need of legal services. He pointed out that the number of calls has already increased. “We’ve seen this strategy and we know what the results will be.”
Los Angeles County is home to an estimated 800,000 undocumented immigrants, or about 1 in 12 county residents, according to USC’s Equity Institute.
Supervisor Kathryn Berger, the board’s only Republican, called for a vote, noting that there was already an immigration crisis under the Biden administration, with some migrants landing in tents on Skid Row. I abstained. She said she recently visited the area and met the mother of a 15-year-old who had just crossed the border.
“These families say the environment on Skid Row is better than when they arrived,” Berger said. “I want to be careful to take this for what it is, but we are already facing a serious crisis.”
Many advocates on Tuesday praised the county for moving quickly to fund its promise to remain a safe haven for immigrants.
“Sometimes local governments issue resolutions that just have nice words,” said Xiumin Chia, deputy director of immigration and racial justice at the California Immigration Policy Center, whose organization says Donald Trump He said he met with Solis’ team shortly after his election. Recommend additional protections that counties could enact. “The county is actually planning some concrete initiatives.”
Meanwhile, the city of Los Angeles is moving ahead with plans to ban its employees from involvement in federal immigration enforcement and make the city a “sanctuary city.”
Los Angeles County took a similar step during President Trump’s first term, banning county sheriffs from removing people to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a judicial warrant.
But that has done little to ease the fears of many immigrants who fear deportation, advocates said at Tuesday’s board meeting.
“Since the election, we have heard from many families who have been left paralyzed by uncertainty,” said Diego Rodriguez, chief operating officer of community group Alma Family Services. “That includes children who fear seeing their parents deported or removed from the only country they know and love.”
Another motion from Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, which passed unanimously Tuesday, would create a pilot program to support organizations serving transgender people in Los Angeles County for $7 million over two years. will be funded. Such investments have long been called for by advocacy groups such as the TransLatin@ Coalition, founded by transgender women in LA.
The pilot program will include $4.5 million for organizations that provide a variety of services to the “transgender, gender-expansive, and intersex” (TGI) community, preferably led by TGI individuals. A Horvath spokesperson said the funding will come from the county’s general fund.
The proposal also includes $2 million for an external administrator to process grant applications and help strengthen the training and capacity of organizations receiving funding, and $500,000 for a program ombudsman.
Dozens of people gathered and waved flags outside the county courthouse ahead of Tuesday’s vote in support of transgender “health and equity” initiatives.
June Paniushkin, Legislative Affairs Coordinator for the TransLatin@ Coalition, said the funding will “empower our communities: house them, feed them, keep them employed, healthy and have equal access.” The money will be donated to an organization that will do the same. Government resources.
“We know there are political forces out there who are trying to undermine and devalue us, but we are here to say, ‘No way, no.’” TransLatina@ Coalition Chairman and CEO Bambi Salcedo said, to cheers and shouts.
The move comes after President-elect Trump argued that the United States should only recognize the two genders assigned at birth: male and female. He pledged to block federal funds from being used for gender transitions, which could limit access to medical treatment for transgender people who rely on programs like Medicaid.
And President Trump has vowed to end Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to young people. Medicaid and Medicare are the primary sources of funding for health care facilities.
Introducing L.A. County’s proposal for a pilot program, Horvath said it would be about “putting our words into practice – not only standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, but also providing them with the tools and resources they need to thrive.” It is to do so.”
The measure drew little criticism at Tuesday’s meeting. In written comments, some argued that the pilot program was discriminatory and that the funds should be used to support small business owners.
Berger said he doesn’t question the legitimacy of the proposal, but does question the process behind it, including which organizations could receive the funding and how the $7 million figure was arrived at. said there are concerns.
“The actual need may be even higher,” said Berger, who ultimately voted with the rest of the board to support the proposal.
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