WHY WE NEED IRLA

Los Angeles County’s future depends on its immigrants. They power our economy, enrich our culture, and anchor our communities. Yet too often, they are excluded from the very systems their labor sustains.

Who makes up our immigrant community

  • 35% of L.A. County residents are immigrants

  • Over half are Latinx, 15% AAPI, and 8% Black

  • More than one million are undocumented

  • Immigrants contribute $38 billion in taxes and spend $108 billion annually in the local economy

The pandemic made inequities impossible to ignore.

When COVID-19 hit, more than 30% of Latinas and 36% of those who are undocumented lost their jobs, pushing unemployment among immigrant women to over 20%. Forty-two percent of undocumented households reported language barriers when seeking help. Immigrants Are LA was created to ensure that immigrant families received their fair share of County relief and that the County built systems to serve them equitably in future crises.

Since then, IRLA has worked to turn that moment into lasting change:

  • Secured more than $163 million from ARP in County funding for immigrant-inclusive programs and services 

  • Helped expand rent relief and housing programs to include immigrant families

  • Advanced the “Increasing Support for Los Angeles County Immigrants” motion, a landmark commitment to immigrant inclusion

  • Strengthened County language access and digital service improvements

Our mission is to ensure immigrants have a seat and a voice in the County budget process and that immigrant-inclusive investments remain central to Los Angeles County’s vision for equity and recovery. Because when immigrants thrive, Los Angeles thrives.