LA Mayor Bass Signs Executive Directive, Backs Cash Cards for Raid-Affected Immigrants

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed an executive directive on Friday, July 11, aimed at protecting immigrant communities amid recent ICE and federal immigration raids in Los Angeles and Ventura County. The order mandates city departments to implement sanctuary-city protocols, provide training for staff on handling ICE actions, establish an LAPD working group, and request records from federal agencies about enforcement operations via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

As part of the initiative, local immigrant-support organizations—backed by independent philanthropic funds—will distribute prepaid cash cards loaded with a “couple hundred” dollars to individuals impacted by the raids. Bass emphasized the assistance is funded by charitable partners, not city coffers.

Bass stated at a press briefing: “We are a proud city of immigrants…deploying every resource and tool available within the City to ensure that we are supporting immigrant communities.”

The directive specifically requires:
– Training for city employees on sanctuary-city policies and interactions with federal agents;
– Creation of a dedicated LAPD working group focused on immigration enforcement incidents;
– Filing FOIA requests to obtain details on ICE and federal enforcement actions, including locations, detainee information, and operational costs;
– Coordination with community organizations to distribute prepaid cash assistance, available in about one week.

The move follows intense backlash over the July 7 MacArthur Park raid in Los Angeles, where ICE and National Guard personnel reportedly deployed military-style tactics—an operation Bass called “outrageous and un-American,” asserting that federal forces made LA feel “under siege.” She also personally confronted federal agents at the scene.

Los Angeles has since joined federal litigation challenging the raids as unlawful, alleging racial profiling and excessive force. Ventura County raids—including a July 10 operation at a cannabis farm—uncovered underage, unaccompanied minors among workers, prompting additional concern.