LA’s Fil-Am controller says protests cost the city nearly $20 million
Los Angeles Controller Kenneth Mejia | FILE PHOTOS
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Controller Kenneth Mejia said the city has spent nearly $20 million in police costs and other expenses in response to protests sparked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
Mejia said in a presentation shared on TikTok that the city has incurred at least $19.7 million in costs through June 16.
“The City of LA has spent $19.7 MILLION so far in response to the June protests against ICE. These do not include potential lawsuits or liability claims,” said Mejia, LA’s first Filipino elected official and the first Asian American to hold citywide office.
The Los Angeles Police Department has spent $17.2 million or 87 percent of the total amount. Expenses related to property damage and cleanup totaled $1.4 million.
@lacontrollermejia The City of LA has spent $19.7 MILLION so far in response to the June protests against ICE. These do not include potential lawsuits or liability claims. #lacontroller #controllermejia #losangeles #kennethmejia #kennethmejiala #ice #iceraids
Intensified immigration raids have prompted daily protests in the streets of downtown Los Angeles and other LA County sites that have occasionally turned violent and destructive. That led President Donald Trump to deploy the California National Guard and the US Marines to the area.
Mejia was one of the Fil-Am elected officials in Southern California who have called for an end to ICE raids.
He called the violent raids “cruel” and an affront to the city’s values. “These raids tear families apart and go against the principles we stand for,” he said.
The LAPD said Monday that 575 people have been arrested since the anti-ICE demonstrations started on June 6.
Despite the protests, ICE raids were expected to continue this week in Southern California amid Trump administration guidance focusing on cities run by elected Democrats, while cutting back on enforcement at farms, hotels and restaurants.
“ICE Officers are herewith ordered, by notice of this TRUTH, to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History,” President Donald Trump posted Sunday on Truth Social, his social media platform.
Impact on small businesses
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider approving a motion to study the raids’ economic impact on small businesses.
According to Tuesday’s motion by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, the ICE raids have been removing people from workplaces, “leaving their families unaware and waiting for them to return home after a day at work.”
Solis held a press briefing Tuesday morning, saying, “These raids are targeted at our immigrant neighbors, including finding people in parking lots, Home Depot, grocery stores, car washes, swap meets, churches and other random places in our communities.”
Solis said the federal government’s escalation sparked the civil unrest, calling it a “man-made” crisis.
The protests in downtown have also disrupted a local economy that was already finding its footing after the COVID-19 pandemic and January wildfires, Solis said.
She also noted the impacts of the disruption could set back wildfire recovery, citing data showing that more than 40 percent of the construction industry consists of immigrant workers.
“Our immigrant, small businesses are creating jobs and they have been strengthening our communities in the economy,” Solis said. “But now, many of those same immigrants and their families and their workers are deciding to stay home, fearing that a routine trip to the grocery store or even to school could change their lives.”
Solis cited data showing that nearly one in five Angelenos are either undocumented or live with someone who is, and about one-third of LA County’s 10 million residents are immigrants.
Immigrants also contribute to the local economy, which is estimated at about $115 billion through taxes and spending power combined, she said.
“At over $960 billion, the GDP of Los Angeles County would rank as the 19th largest economy in the world,” the motion states. “The Trump Administration’s hard-lined approach to immigration will impact the financial contribution the County provides to the State of California and to the entire United States.”
Solis also stated that the immigration raids have impacted both US citizens and legal immigrants.
If approved, the motion will direct the Department of Economic Opportunity to report back to the board in 15 days with an assessment of the economic impacts of federal immigration enforcement in the county.
The report would include a study on small businesses impacted by workforce loss, impact of property damage and imposed curfews and the most affected industrial sectors. (With CNS report)
