Gavin Newsom publicly defended the union boss arrested last summer for blocking an ICE vehicle.
Now a California attorney has gone through the financial records and traced exactly who was behind that operation.
And one of the agencies cutting those checks is the same one whose agents they were tracking.
California Gave CHIRLA $34 Million in Taxpayer Funds to Run Anti-ICE Operations in Los Angeles
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights – CHIRLA – runs the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network.
That network runs a hotline where anyone can report ICE agent locations in real time.
When tips come in, CHIRLA dispatches lawyers, activists, and "legal observers" directly to the scene.
During the 2025 Los Angeles ICE operations, the network fielded over 50 calls reporting federal agent locations.
CHIRLA Executive Director Angelica Salas described the federal agents as "men in military garb."
Civil liberties attorney Laura Powell with Californians for Good Governance pulled CHIRLA's financial statements and found the numbers Sacramento didn't want anyone to see.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, CHIRLA reported nearly $34 million in government contract revenue – about 96 percent of it from California.
State agencies on the funding list included the California Department of Social Services, the California Arts Council, and the Governor's Office of Emergency Services – along with the Department of Homeland Security.
Yes, the same DHS whose agents CHIRLA was tracking across Los Angeles.
DHS awarded CHIRLA a $450,000 federal grant in 2023 for citizenship instruction and naturalization services.
Trump's administration froze the remaining $101,100 in February and terminated the grant outright in March.
The termination letter stated that CHIRLA's work "no longer effectuates the program goals and the Department's priorities."
Then Newsom handed CHIRLA $20 million more – zero strings attached – to invest in real estate.
Not for legal services or immigrant assistance. To buy property.
Newsom didn't just fund an anti-ICE operation. He made sure it could never be defunded.
https://twitter.com/LauraPowellEsq/status/1931526696160968790
Gavin Newsom Funded CHIRLA Then Defended the Union Boss Arrested for Blocking ICE Agents
CHIRLA's Angelica Salas calls SEIU California President David Huerta her "brother."
Huerta was arrested at a protest for blocking an ICE vehicle.
Newsom publicly defended him – claiming Huerta was merely "witnessing" the action.
That's the same Newsom whose administration routed tens of millions to CHIRLA – the organization training people to confront ICE in the field.
Powell described what California built: "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."
CHIRLA's "Warriors for Justice" deportation defense team was bankrolled by the Los Angeles Justice Fund – a pool of money from liberal foundations, the city of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles County.
CHIRLA runs its online fundraising through ActBlue – the Democratic Party's fundraising platform, which is under federal investigation.
CHIRLA isn't a nonprofit. It's a political money machine wearing a 501(c)(3) tax exemption.
Trump Cut CHIRLA Federal Funding and the Group Sued and Lost
CHIRLA sued to get the money back. A court denied its request for an emergency injunction in May, and a second CHIRLA lawsuit was dismissed for lack of standing.
The House Judiciary Committee opened a formal probe into CHIRLA's ties to the 2025 anti-ICE riots – examining federal grants the group received between 2021 and 2023.
California Congressman Kevin Kiley introduced the No Tax Dollars for Riots Act, which would strip federal funding and tax-exempt status from any nonprofit involved in organizing unlawful riots.
And California Republicans also demanded a full state audit into how much of CHIRLA's taxpayer funding went toward protests and activism.
California Democrats built this with your money – an operation that tracks federal agents in real time, funded by the agencies it fights and protected by the politicians it helps elect.
CHIRLA ran the "Abolish ICE" campaign in 2018 and has been running the same play ever since.
The only things that changed are the price tag – now $34 million – and a federal government finally willing to say no.
Trump froze the funds. CHIRLA's hotline is still active anyway, fielding tips on federal agents and sending activists to intercept them across Southern California.
And CHIRLA owns property now – bought with taxpayer money. Newsom made sure of that.
Newsom signed the checks. Trump needs to dismantle every piece – including the real estate.
Sources:
- Laura Powell, "Taxpayers Subsidize LA Unrest Through California's 'Protest-Industrial Complex,'" The Spectator, June 2025.
- Staff, "Who Is Funding the Anti-ICE Activists in LA?" Washington Examiner, June 10, 2025.
- Staff, "Waste of the Day: California Fueled Immigration Advocacy," RealClearInvestigations, June 27, 2025.
- Jennifer Van Laar, "We Followed the Money in the LA Riots: $34 Million in Taxpayer Dollars," RedState, June 9, 2025.
- Staff, "House Judiciary Committee Opens Probe Into Taxpayer-Funded Group's Potential Ties to LA Anti-ICE Riots," House Judiciary Committee, 2025.
- Jennifer Van Laar, "Kevin Kiley and Laura Powell Expose the CHIRLA Government Money Grift," RedState, August 27, 2025.
