L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Promises Illegal Aliens Cash Amid ICE Raids

Ah, California. With U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ continued raids throughout Southern California, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday that undocumented migrants in the city will receive prepaid cash cards funded by philanthropic donors.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the mayor stated that the aid would amount to “a couple hundred” dollars per recipient and emphasized that “money will not come from city coffers but from philanthropic partners.”

The program is set to begin within the week. As reported by the Times, the cash cards “should be available in about a week,” and will be distributed “by immigrants rights groups such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.” The mayor’s office added that “the city will coordinate between philanthropists and organizations distributing the cards,” the Times said.

Just IN : LA Mayor Bass announces 'cash assistance’ program to immigrant families affected by ICE raids. The idea is to begin handing out 'cash’ debit cards families by next week.

She mentioned the program would be funded via 'philanthropists’, not city taxpayer money. -LAT pic.twitter.com/usgpkkJLNo

— Anthony (@AnthonyCabassa_) July 11, 2025

Bass described the fear and uncertainty that some undocumented residents are experiencing in the wake of heightened immigration enforcement. She said there were migrants “who don’t want to leave their homes,” and are “not going to work.”

The announcement came during a press conference in which Bass signed an executive order “directing all city departments to ‘bolster protocols’ and training on how to comply with the city’s sanctuary policy,” according to the Times.

This policy action follows a separate declaration from Bass on July 8, when she announced that the city would be “joining a private class action civil lawsuit” in response to ICE raids conducted under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The developments underscore Los Angeles’s ongoing resistance to federal immigration enforcement and reflect its broader sanctuary city stance, even as tensions rise over the legality and scope of such local initiatives.