IMMIGRAnt Rights
Immigration enforcement under the Trump administration is racist and unconstitutional, and too many families in South Central are under direct attack. I was born in Guatemala at the height of a civil war and my family immigrated to this country to build a better life. This issue is personal to me.
Every community member in South Central deserves to live in peace and have the opportunity to build an economic opportunity for themselves and their family. If I'm a Councilmember, I will work hand in hand with my community to build a Los Angeles that is fair, humane, and that reflects our values.
Strengthen our sanctuary city policies
Last year, City Council adopted sanctuary protections that prohibit the use of city resources for immigration enforcement and restricts cooperation with federal immigration authorities and LAPD, and Mayor Karen Bass through Executive Directive No. 12 reinforced these protections. But as we’ve seen time and time again over the course of this summer, law enforcement has cooperated with ICE.
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To further protect immigrants in the City, we must strengthen the Sanctuary City ordinances by clarifying language around clear prohibitions on cooperation between LAPD and immigration enforcement.
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Contractors that work with the city must also be required to comply with sanctuary policies to prevent information-sharing and to prevent outside entities from bypassing these protections.
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There is currently no centralized hub where immigrants or people affected by the immigration raids can seek assistance. I would advocate for creating a dedicated rapid response office housed within the Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department to coordinate a 24/7 hotline and mobilize family assistance services.
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In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson issued an executive order to designate city-owned buildings as sanctuary zones after police officials were seen using city-owned lots for immigration enforcement. Los Angeles County moved forward with creating ICE free zones at county owned facilities and the City of LA should follow. Spaces like libraries, recreation centers, and community centers should be designated “safe zones” where federal immigration authorities cannot conduct enforcement operations without a judicial warrant.
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Use the City’s zoning and land use powers to stop vacant buildings, like warehouses or closed facilities, from being turned into detention centers anywhere in Los Angeles. This is especially important in Council District 9, where there are many warehouses that could be targeted for these uses. Without clear rules, our communities could be at risk.
increase Legal representation and due process
Unlike in the criminal justice system, individuals who face immigration hearings are not guaranteed legal counsel or any form of support during proceedings which can have life-altering consequences, including continued detainment and deportation.
Those who do have the support of an immigration lawyer are often either individuals who can afford to retain their own counsel or who receive pro bono legal aid often via community groups, but LA residents’ ability to access legal support during such consequential proceedings shouldn’t depend on their income level or their luck.
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RepresentLA provides crucial legal services to LA City and County residents who need support with immigration proceedings, including deportation.
However, the City’s FY2025-2026 budget allocated only $1 million out of the nearly $10 million requested by RepresentLA, a figure which is already too low to provide legal representation to all LA residents who face immigration hearings. While the City recently found an additional $1 million to fund RepresentLA, and the County also provided one-time funding of $5.5 million, this still leaves a nearly $2 million shortfall.
Future LA City budgets should include a line-item minimum funding allocation of $4 million dollars for RepresentLA with a plan for increases to ensure that all LA City residents who face immigration proceedings have the support of a lawyer.
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I will work proactively to conduct Know Your Rights” outreach so every resident in Los Angeles has clear, accessible information about their legal rights. Every event hosted by my office will provide “Know Your Rights” red cards, and I will work with my fellow councilmembers to ensure that the city’s coordinated “Know Your Rights” campaign fully utilizes the city’s available platforms, such as social media, Metro transit advertisements, and billboards, to reach residents where they live and work.
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The City’s Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance prohibits landlords or property managers from asking about a tenant’s immigration/citizenship status or disclosing a tenant’s immigration/citizenship if done to harass the tenant. I will strengthen the enforcement of this ordinance to ensure tenants know how to report harassment and that the harassment is investigated and enforced to the full extent of the law.
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I will support and expand access to free citizenship classes at public libraries, community organizations, and community colleges.
Respond to Mass Immigration Enforcement
The impacts of ICE raids can be traumatic and destabilizing. Families are separated, children miss school, workers are too scared to go to work and entire neighborhoods are left anxious.
In the first weeks of June, where we saw escalated ICE raids in our state, 465,000 fewer workers reported for work. Los Angeles must defend our immigrant community and build systems that keep families safe and supported.
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I will work to identify funding and create an emergency rent relief program for immigrant families facing financial hardship, including those impacted by enforcement actions, by partnering with philanthropy and foundations to provide the bulk of rental assistance dollars and with trusted community-based organizations to lead outreach.
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The American Psychological Association report on mental health and immigration enforcement documented that even the fear of deportation can trigger depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress, especially among children.
I will work with LA County to ensure that mental therapy services include trauma-informed therapy programs and work with our school board members to bring more mental healthcare services to our schools in Council District 9 that families can access quickly, safely, and without fear.
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The economic impacts of the mass immigration raids have been devastating, leaving many households unable to pay the rent. I support an eviction moratorium for impacted households combined with additional rental assistance.
Make City Services Accessible
Navigating our city’s services can be confusing enough as it is, but it can be even more difficult if you don’t speak English. Roughly 78% of residents in Council District 9 over 5 years old are multilingual, and many residents face significant barriers to accessing basic city services, exercising their legal rights, and participating fully in civic life.
The State of Immigrants in Los Angeles report found that 43% of immigrants they surveyed required translation or interpretation services at least some of the time. If we want to improve civic participation and trust in our institutions, we have to ensure that every Angeleno can get access to the services they need.
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I support creating a new team under the Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department (LA Civil Rights) dedicated to Immigrant Inclusion and Language Access.
Language access has been shown to increase the use of public benefits, improve health outcomes, and reduce inequities. Ensuring that all services are available in the languages spoken by Angelenos is essential to making them accessible.
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I support creating a citywide Community Navigator Program modeled after the Los Angeles County’s Community Navigator Program. By creating our own dedicated program, we can deploy multilingual community navigators to communities like South Central and ensure that residents receive guidance on legal aid, housing support, and more. Navigators serve as trusted messengers who help residents overcome fear, misinformation, and bureaucratic barriers, making city services more accessible and effective.
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Immigrant communities may be hesitant to seek assistance from the City. I will partner with trusted community leaders and culturally competent, community-based organizations to help reach more people in need of services and support.
support immigrant workers and buSInesses
Supporting immigrant workers and businesses is essential to building a strong and inclusive local economy. This means ensuring immigrant workers have access to fair wages and safe working conditions, and immigrant-owned businesses have access to capital, technical assistance, and streamlined permitting processes.
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Los Angeles’ current system is incredibly bureaucratic and can be difficult for immigrants and street vendors to navigate.
According to a 2023 UCLA Law Clinic report, fewer than 200 of the city’s estimated 10,000 street food vendors had secured permits, revealing how burdensome the current process remains.
We need to simplify cart design to allow for faster approvals, while fees for low-income vendors should be reduced or waived entirely. I would also increase resources at the City’s BusinessSource Centers to help street vendors obtain permits.
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I will establish a dedicated Small Business Deputy within the Council Office to serve as a direct point of contact for street vendors or local immigrant-owned businesses by providing technical support to navigate city bureaucracy, troubleshoot permitting or compliance issues, and gather input from small business owners to inform future policy decisions.
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I will strengthen the Office of Wage Standards by increasing funding and staff and work with community-based worker centers to monitor labor abuses and ensure restitution.
My office will also work with the City Attorney’s office to go after employers who continually commit wage theft and my district office will be proactive in the community by having neighborhood-based worker rights workshops in community centers and schools so undocumented workers know how to report violations safely without fear of retaliation or deportation.