I forgot to share this document, which shows the list of government agencies that funded CHIRLA. It relates to the funding year ending June 2023, though the filing date is 2024. pic.twitter.com/zGhvKXadZJ

— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) June 8, 2025

There are lots of players in the Los Angeles riots, but the biggest one coordinating the action is a group called CHIRlA. 

EXCLUSIVE: Taxpayer-Funded Nonprofit Behind the Anti-ICE Riots in Los Angeles.

Over the past two days, ICE agents have conducted targeted operations across the Los Angeles region, detaining more than 40 suspected illegal aliens. These enforcement actions triggered large-scale demonstrations, some of which turned confrontational, with reports of vandalism, blocked traffic, and physical clashes with federal agents.

The unrest has prompted questions about who is organizing and funding these protests. One of the organizations at the center of the resistance to ICE is the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), a Los Angeles nonprofit that has long provided legal and advocacy services to illegal aliens. CHIRLA is known for radical positions on immigration—for example, it led a campaign to abolish ICE in 2018.

Yesterday afternoon, as clashes with federal law enforcement were heating up, CHIRLA Executive Director Angelica Salas held a press conference during which she announced that the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network’s hotline had received more than 50 calls reporting ICE activity and sightings of “men in military garb.” LARRN is organized by a coalition of nonprofits, and CHIRLA plays a central role, using its main phone line as the hotline number. LARRN’s hotline is one of the communication systems that allows legal observers, volunteers, and other activists to be quickly dispatched to the scene of immigration enforcement actions.

During her remarks, Salas referred to SEIU California President David Huerta as her “brother,” highlighting CHIRLA’s close ties to organized labor in California. Huerta had been arrested during one of the protests for blocking the path of an ICE vehicle, as shown by video footage released by U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. Governor Gavin Newsom expressed his unequivocal support for Huerta, claiming he was only “witnessing” the action, while Essayli announced his intention to file criminal charges.

For her part, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has defiantly opposed federal immigration enforcement in the city, stating on social media Friday, “We will not stand for this” and “No vamos a permitir estas acciones,” (“We are not going to permit these actions”). She added that her office would collaborate with community-based organizations that serve immigrants. She has a long relationship with CHIRLA and bragged last year about obtaining federal funding for CHIRLA’s programs. That grant is part of a broader stream of public dollars that the organization receives from government sources.

In fact, according to a financial audit submitted to the state, the CHIRLA organization received nearly $34 million in revenue from government contracts during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, with 96% of that funding from the State of California. That figure marks a sharp increase from the prior year, when it received around $12 million in government contract revenue. Agencies contributing to CHIRLA’s funding during this period included the California Department of Social Services, the California Arts Council, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, and the Department of Homeland Security. Notably, as mentioned above, a DHS contract funded CHIRLA to provide citizenship instruction and naturalization services.

With $100,000 remaining on CHIRLA’s contract, DHS froze the remaining funds in February. CHIRLA responded by suing. The court denied their motion for a preliminary injunction on May 29. This is one of two lawsuits CHIRLA filed against DHS this year. The other was dismissed for lack of standing and is on appeal.

To sum up how this works: Your tax dollars fund an organization that organizes efforts to directly interfere with the federal government’s lawful exercise of authority. Then, through its lobbying arm, that organization helps get Democrats elected to office, who then repay the favor by ensuring increased funding.

This is the nonprofit industrial complex at work.

Most of the money that flows into groups like CHIRLA flows in tax-free, either through grants or laundered through donor-advised funds. We reflexively think that somewhere in the background is George Soros, and indeed, his Open Society Foundations play a not insignificant role. 

But as we found out with the USAID revelations, Soros often provides only seed money and guidance to NGOs involved in radical politics. Much of the money that flows into these groups comes from government agencies and bureaucracies established as a fourth branch of government, often unaccountable or nearly so to the Executive Branch. 

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

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 history of taking radical positions on immigration; for example, it led a 2018 campaign to abolish ICE. It currently leads the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network, which gathers intel about enforcement actions and deploys activists to respond.

CHIRLA has strong ties to the Democrat Party in California and has supported the election of Democratic candidates through its lobbying arm. It has a particularly close relationship with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The organization also has a close relationship with organized labor in the state, which in turn is a major financial supporter of Democrat politicians. On Friday, amid rising tensions, CHIRLA held a rally protesting ICE’s enforcement actions and the arrest of SEIU President David Huerta for obstruction.

The incredible part is that CHIRLA’s activities are primarily funded by California taxpayers. I obtained a financial audit that shows that for the fiscal year ending June 2023, it received $34 million from the state, mostly through the Department of Social Services, accounting for 72% of its total revenue. This was nearly a three-fold increase over the previous year.

CHIRLA also received a $450,000 federal contract in 2023, which Mayor Bass publicly took credit for helping secure. DHS froze funding in February, which prompted a lawsuit from CHIRLA. DHA then canceled the contract, and the lawsuit was then dismissed.

CHIRLA, which is engaged in attacking ICE officers, is funded by the Department of Homeland Security as well. Politicians line up to secure CHIRLA endorsements, and local units of government funnel money their way — money that often comes from the federal government in the form of grants. 

.@KamalaHarris 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.

Arrest this… pic.twitter.com/Zj1QAEofge

— 🇺🇲Salty Texan (@texan_maga) June 9, 2025

As I have argued this morning, all this is planned and executed by Democrats and their allies. The Democrats fund the riots through your tax dollars, and then jump out in front of the riots to use them as a tool to manipulate people into believing that Trump and Republicans are inciting people through their fascist actions. 

PICTURED: Democrat Senator Chris Murphy: “This is a moment where we have to be on the streets all over the country."

ALSO PICTURED: What happens when Democrats call for their people to be on the streets. https://t.co/30ixevWune pic.twitter.com/TvZnP4YsGs

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 9, 2025

Are people buying what they are selling? It depends on who you mean. Democrats certainly are, which is why every Democrat governor in the country has lined up behind the protests. 

You put your finger on the problem: "Every single Democratic Governor agrees" https://t.co/7IWDQ8Uuw4

— William A. Jacobson (@wajacobson) June 9, 2025

They fund the riots, and then use the riots to justify their attacks on Trump and Republicans and to push their radical agenda. The same thing happened with the George Floyd riots in 2020. 

Antifa and the organized rioters are the shock troops of the Democratic Party, and as far as I can tell the only way to stop this madness is to stop the flow of funding to the NGOs organizing the riots. That means cutting off grants, ripping away the nonprofit status of the groups organizing the riots, and systematically investigating, arresting, and jailing anyone breaking the law. 

California Democrat Rep. Nanette Barragán calls the Los Angeles riots "Peaceful Protests" on CNN while the network displays a literal car on fire.

Barragán: "We have an administration that is targeting peaceful protests."

Remarkable. pic.twitter.com/3DDkAciwZa

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 8, 2025

During the Biden administration, the FBI spent enormous resources going after "Domestic Violent Extremists"-- a term they applied to you and me. Well, here is an obvious group of Domestic Violent Extremists. It's time to defund them and jail them. 

🚨NEW—Gavin Newsom just put ALL the blame for these riots on Donald Trump.

YOU’RE THE GOVERNOR! pic.twitter.com/PaJ40vMVoR

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 9, 2025