More than 850 small businesses that have faced federal immigration enforcement-related economic disruption will receive a combined $3.6 million in grants through a second funding round of a Los Angeles County program, officials announced Thursday.
Grants come from the Small Business Resiliency Fund, a program launched by the county Board of Supervisors in September 2025 to provide direct financial assistance to small businesses in need. Dollars for the program come from the county’s Care First Community Invest program.
Award notifications are being issued by third-party administrator AidKit in coordination with the county Department of Economic Opportunity and fiscal sponsor SoCal Grantmakers.
In December, the county released about $1.53 million in grants from the first round of the program that helped 367 small businesses. An analysis from the DEO and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation found the county lost an estimated 11,730 jobs, $932 million in labor income, and $2.5 billion in economic output from June to December 2025.
During a morning news conference, Supervisor Hilda Solis said she introduced a motion last summer in response to the harm being done by the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The federal government has defended its immigration enforcement actions, saying they are targeting “illegal” immigrants who are the “worst of the worst” criminals.
“They continue today on an even larger scale, spreading fear and uncertainty across many of our communities. Families are in constant fear, as well as their children and employers,” Solis said. “Workers, as we know, are being torn away from their job sites. People are being snatched from their homes, streets, bus stops, parks, and even their cars.”
“We’ve seen it with our own eyes, and there’s no refuting that these actions not only terrorize our families, but they are having a devastating impact on our small businesses, who rely on this workforce that’s being impacted,” Solis added.
She emphasized the first round of the program was so successful they agreed to conduct a second funding round.
Solis noted that in her district she had 146 eligible small businesses that were left unfunded. So, the supervisor also presented the DOE with a $649,000 check — money from her discretionary dollars — to support those remaining businesses.
Kelly LoBianco, director of the DEO, reiterated the program is a tool to provide immediate financial relief for small businesses.
“Our county, especially our immigrant owners and neighbors, continue to bear the weight of this disruption to their normal operations,” LoBianco said.
Entrepreneurs such as brick-and-mortar owners, sidewalk vendors, independent contractors and some customer facing-based businesses who have less than 100 employees and $6 million in revenue, and have experienced direct impacts from federal immigration enforcement can apply for the program, she added.