Philanthropy California Statement on Federal Immigration Raids & Protests
Philanthropy California — the statewide alliance of Northern California Grantmakers, SoCal Grantmakers, and Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties — stands unwaveringly with our state’s immigrant and migrant communities. We also stand alongside the nonprofits, organizations, and community leaders mobilizing to defend our democracy and constitutional rights to due process, protest, and freedom of expression.
Our hearts break for our Los Angeles communities that have been targeted and harmed by the ongoing federal immigration raids. We are now seeing these deportation operations move across the state. These are the communities we serve and that our staff, members, and partners call home. The people being targeted are our families, friends, and neighbors.
Philanthropy California strongly opposes the continued targeting and criminalization of immigrant and migrant communities across the state. We believe basic freedoms and democratic principles must be guaranteed to all of us, regardless of immigration status. We believe in the First Amendment right to protest and oppose silencing public dissent through martial law and state violence.
At this moment, California’s philanthropic community must come together to protect the core tenets of our democracy and support our state's most at-risk and marginalized members.
We urge our sector to direct resources to the nonprofits, community leaders, and individuals working to support immigrant communities and our collective constitutional rights.
In an effort to coordinate action and funds, Philanthropy California has activated our Nonprofit & Community Resilience (NCR) response page with a list of vetted funds, rapid response opportunities, and resources to support the organizations and individuals mobilizing to meet this moment. We encourage you to visit our NCR page and complete our intake form to submit a fund to our list.
As the situation evolves, the Philanthropy California team will update the NCR page with new funds, resources, and information. We will also continue our regional updates on the federal budget and our statewide advocacy against the provisions that would deeply impact public programs in California and philanthropy’s ability to serve our communities.
Immigrants and migrants are an inseparable part of California’s identity, economy, and civil society. Now is the time for us to be courageous and stand alongside our state’s communities. In this moment, California, with the support of our philanthropic community, can be a leader in protecting the fundamental freedoms guaranteed to everyone in this country.
In Partnership,
Christine Essel
President & CEO,
SoCal Grantmakers
Dwayne S. Marsh
President & CEO,
Northern California Grantmakers
Megan Thomas
President & CEO,
Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties
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