Opinion: Immigrant families carried LA through a hard year. The budget should carry them forward

Jose has worked as a painter for much of the 40 years he has lived in this country. He is 66 now. When we asked what guaranteed income would mean to him, his answer was simple.

"I'm not looking for luxuries," he said. "After so many years of work, I just want to live with a little peace and dignity."

Jose spoke last month at a town hall hosted by Immigrants Are LA, a coalition of more than 100 community organizations across the county. He was one of more than 130 community members who came to talk about guaranteed income. Their stories reflect a year that tested immigrant families across Los Angeles County like few before it. 

Federal immigration enforcement reached car washes, Home Depot parking lots and job sites across the region. The Department of Homeland Security claimed 10,000 arrests in Los Angeles between June and December 2025 alone. Street vendors, gardeners and day laborers cut their hours or stopped working altogether. Families lost paychecks overnight and fell behind on rent.

For many families, the strain has not let up. Our communities have met it the way they always do, by showing up for one another and keeping this county running. 

A county budget is a statement of values, and this year Los Angeles County showed that it values keeping families housed. The County declared a local emergency in October 2025, and the Board created the Emergency Rent Relief Program for households that lost income because of immigration enforcement, along with wildfire survivors. The first round alone drew more than 4,600 applications, and the County has now invested more than $44 million in the program. 

Budget season closed last week, and the next step is making that progress last. Emergency programs are essential in a crisis, but permanent rent relief would give families a steady place to turn when a paycheck disappears.

Our elders need the same steady support. They have paid into this county and state for decades. Immigrants who don't qualify for federal benefits paid an estimated $8.5 billion in California state and local taxes in 2022, and many pay into Social Security they will never collect. Still, many reach old age with no safety net, in a county where 37 percent of adults 65 and older cannot cover their basic needs.  

Rafael, 65, has spent 20 years in this country, much of it working at car washes. "To be able to rest easy, without worrying about how I'll get by," he said. "That would be a dream come true."

Lydia, a member of the Pilipino Workers Center, still works as a caregiver so she can help her grandchildren, who are studying to become doctors in the Philippines. The work gets harder every year. "Sometimes I can't sleep because I'm thinking about how I'm going to pay the house rent and other bills," she said. She would use the additional income to pay her rent and save for emergencies.

The County has already taken a first step. Earlier this year, County leaders outlined plans to use the infrastructure of Breathe, its earlier guaranteed income pilot, to provide $1,200 a month for one year to 45 seniors affected by immigration raids, modeled on our coalition's proposal. Our coalition has proposed a two-year, $8.3 million pilot reaching 250 seniors, 50 in each supervisorial district. We are asking the Board to build on its first step and fund it in the next budget.  

October holds special meaning for us. Filipino American History Month begins while Hispanic Heritage Month is still underway. Filipino and Latino families have built Los Angeles side by side for generations, caring for its elders, building its homes and feeding its families. Many of those workers are now elders themselves.

Our coalition is ready to help. The 2027-28 budget process begins soon. We look forward to working with the Board and the Chief Executive Office to make rent relief permanent and to fund guaranteed income for elders. If a budget is a statement of values, the next one can say clearly that Los Angeles County values the elders who built it. Peace and dignity after a lifetime of work is not too much to ask.

Angelica Salas is executive director of CHIRLA. Aquilina Soriano Versoza is executive director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California. Both serve as co-chairs of Immigrants Are LA.