Increased detentions and deportations of immigrants in the U.S. have been a focal point of the second Trump administration. More than $70 billion have been allocated to the Department of Homeland Security to help fund these efforts.
The California-based Latino Community Foundation has spent decades aiding nonprofits with their efforts to assist Latino-led organizations. This year, it granted $350,000 to 10 organizations in the Southwest to support legal defense, community protection, and rapid response to immigration enforcement.
Former San Antonio Mayor and U.S. Housing Secretary Julián Castro is the CEO of the foundation. He said the foundation’s national reach is especially important as immigration enforcement actions continue to ramp up.
“We’re living through this national crisis of cruelty, perpetuated by a federal government that is determined … to persecute some of the most vulnerable people in our nation’s population: our immigrant communities,” Castro said.
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, an El Paso-based nonprofit that provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees.
One LFC grant recipient from Texas is the El Paso nonprofit, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, which provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrants.
Executive Director Marisa Limón Garza said the grant funding ensures the nonprofit is able to continue their work, especially as other organizations face canceled contracts with the federal government.
“It’s at a moment that is pivotal for our country and for our region,” she said. “It’s our effort to make sure that people are protected and have the resources they need.”
