The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Biden-Harris administration awarded a $450,000 grant to an organization currently staging protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division that operates within DHS.
The grant was given to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that has been publicly opposing ICE operations, including those recently conducted across the city.
According to grant records and documents posted by investigative reporter Natalie Winters, CHIRLA received the grant through a DHS project program.
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Of the total award, $100,000 remains to be disbursed.
CHIRLA has been active in organizing and promoting protests against federal immigration enforcement.
One of the leading organizers of the violent LA ICE riots is the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.
They are CURRENTLY receiving six-figure grants from @DHSgov for “citizenship instruction and naturalization services.”
This should be terminated immediately! @Sec_Noem… pic.twitter.com/96w7ZjmmVg
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) June 8, 2025
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Demonstrators affiliated with the organization have been seen carrying signs that read, “Stop deportations: full rights for immigrants,” “ICE: out of our communities,” “Education not Deportation,” and “The Trump Fascist Regime Must Go Now.”
On Friday, CHIRLA Executive Director Angelica Salas spoke at a press conference hosted by the CHIRLA-managed Los Angeles Rapid Response Network.
The event was held in response to ICE raids that took place earlier in the day.
“Our community is under attack and has been terrorized,” Salas said.
“These are workers, these are fathers, these are mothers.”
CHIRLA shared portions of Salas’ remarks on social media, including a post that stated: “To our immigrant community: we see you, we hear you, and we will NOT stop fighting for you. We say NO deportations. NO to mass detentions. Families belong together! We belong here!”
Salas continued: “Immigration enforcement that is terrorizing our families throughout this country and picking up our people that we love must stop now.”
She further called on U.S. citizens to be aware of broader implications, stating, “If our rights are violated, if our constitutional rights are violated, if our due process rights are violated, then anybody’s right can be violated. What we observe today is unprecedented.”
If you are a Californian, the current LA riots are an example of your tax dollars hard at work.
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Right—CHIRLA—is one of the key players in fomenting the violent response to immigration enforcement actions. It’s an LA-based nonprofit with a… pic.twitter.com/PSzSsdu0hg
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) June 9, 2025
In addition to the DHS funding, CHIRLA is also financially supported through ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s main fundraising platform.
How much of CHIRLA’s money is flowing through the fraudulent “ActBlue” scammer network?
And why hasn’t @AGPamBondi shut it down yet? pic.twitter.com/XBEI0aj3fW
— Publius (@OcrazioCornPop) June 8, 2025
The $450,000 DHS grant was issued during the tenure of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose policies marked a significant shift from those of DHS under the Trump administration.
Mayorkas prioritized expanding legal pathways and alternatives to enforcement for those in the country illegally.
Early in his tenure, he stated at a White House press briefing: “We’re not saying don’t come, we’re saying don’t come now.”
Mayorkas also issued ICE enforcement guidance in 2021 acknowledging the department’s limited resources to remove over 11 million undocumented immigrants and stating that it would be more efficient to “provide a path to citizenship or other lawful status.”
Under those same policy conditions, CHIRLA received the $450,000 DHS grant and has continued to publicly oppose ICE’s enforcement efforts—even staging events in response to recent arrests.
One such protest was held on behalf of David Huerta, who was arrested during a riot on Friday.
CHIRLA has a history of high-level political engagement.
In 2016 Kamala Harris held an event at CHIRLA’s headquarters and praised the group, stating that their “mission is one of the main reasons I ran to become a Senator.”
WATCH: Kamala Harris praises group behind LA anti-ICE riots for their “work and fight.”
Their “mission is one of the main reasons I ran to become a Senator.”
This was during her first appearance as a Senator-Elect in 2016 which she chose to have at CHIRLA headquarters. pic.twitter.com/QeAyxbHbRt
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) June 8, 2025
As a Senator, Kamala argued that people who enter our country illegally are not criminals. She called for abolishing ICE.
As VP and Border Czar, she let in tens of millions of illegal immigrants.
Kamala says that her values have not changed. Believe her. Vote Trump. pic.twitter.com/kjADi2SA3x
— MAZE (@mazemoore) September 26, 2024
More recently, Kamala Harris had this to say about the current riots in Los Angeles:
“Overwhelmingly peaceful” – Kamala Harris https://t.co/H4Efv5CuCH pic.twitter.com/e1fCFBep0c
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 8, 2025
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