The city of Los Angeles will receive $21.8 million in federal funding to help house and provide support services to newly arrived immigrants, including migrant children living on Skid Row, officials announced.
City officials, with support from the county, had requested funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house newly arrived immigrants who have had difficulty finding housing after arriving in Los Angeles.
Local officials and immigrant rights advocates have pledged to welcome and assist migrants who have arrived in recent years, but those efforts have been hampered by the city's severe housing crisis.
This year, hundreds of migrant parents and children have gone to live at Union Rescue Mission, a private shelter on Skid Row, while a smaller number have been living in tents on the sidewalk. Housing migrant families can be especially difficult because they are often not entitled to the same housing assistance as residents.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the funding as part of more than $380 million allocated nationwide through its Shelter and Services Program, which helps communities provide housing and other services to newly arrived immigrants waiting for their cases to be heard in immigration court.
The city will oversee funding for the grant, which will be allocated to three local nonprofits: the Coalition for Human Rights of Immigrants, Clínica Romero and the Central American Resource Center.
The money can be used to provide shelter, including motels, to migrants and to offer support, such as food, clothing, transportation and other services.
Mayor Karen Bass had lobbied federal officials for the money, and in early August, five members of the Los Angeles congressional delegation, led by Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), wrote to FEMA officials, urging them to approve the funds.
“The City has allocated a significant portion of its budget to provide resources to newly arrived immigrants, but the City’s ability to adequately and humanely serve this population will be limited without additional support,” the letter said, citing a report by the LA Times. “We are concerned that without federal assistance to house immigrants, the homeless situation in Los Angeles will worsen.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said the money would help ensure immigrants arriving in the city get the help they need.
“These funds will help provide much-needed relief to our shelter system and support newcomers facing homelessness, including on Skid Row,” Solis said in a statement.
