Report Details Broad Economic Fallout of Federal Immigration Enforcement in L.A. County

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity or DEO and Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation or LAEDC released a report analyzing the economic impacts of federal immigration enforcement activities on small businesses, workers, and communities across Los Angeles County. The report is the culmination of six previous reports produced by DEO and LAEDC, tracking the evolving impacts of immigration enforcement activities on the county’s small businesses, economy and workforce since June 2025.   

Commissioned by a motion introduced by Supervisors Hilda L. Solis and Janice Hahn and adopted by the Board of Supervisors on June 17, 2025, the report draws on a combination of data analysis and direct input from businesses and communities across Los Angeles County. LAEDC analyzed economic and workforce data, immigration court records, and transportation and travel indicators, and conducted in-depth interviews with small business owners and community forums. To further inform the report, LAEDC conducted a countywide business impact survey open to all businesses in Los Angeles County to understand how recent federal immigration enforcement activities have directly affected local businesses and workers in LA County. The survey ran from mid-September to mid-November 2025.  

Key Report Findings  

• Economic Contribution
  • Undocumented workers contribute an estimated $253.9 billion in total economic output, equivalent to 17% of the county’s Gross Domestic Product or GDP
  • These workers support over 1.06 million jobs and generate $80.4 billion in labor income across industries, including construction, manufacturing, retail, and services.

• Business Disruptions
  • $3.7 million in reported business losses in just three months (July–September 2025)
  • 90% of business interview respondents perceived growing distrust across federal and local governments
  • 82% of businesses surveyed reported negative impacts from immigration enforcement, with 44% losing over half of their revenue
  • 52% experienced reduced daily sales/revenue, and 51% reported decreased customer traffic
  • Over $200,000 in property damage was reported by businesses in curfew and protest-affected areas

• Workforce Impacts
  • 59% of employers expressed concern about maintaining their current workforce
  • 70% of businesses experienced staffing shortages following enforcement action
  • 33% of employers said workers were afraid to report to work

• Community Level Effects
  • Bus ridership on high-vulnerability lines declined by approximately 17,000 monthly riders compared to baseline levels
  • The Downtown LA curfew (June 10–16, 2025) resulted in $840 million in output losses and 3,920 job-years lost

“The out-of-control ICE raids are doing senseless and catastrophic harm to our country, and we are seeing the toll right here in LA County,” said Janice Hahn, Los Angeles County Fourth District Supervisor. They are ripping apart families, treating our neighborhoods like warzones, and now we have hard data about the damage they are doing to our economy. Our businesses recorded millions of dollars in losses in a matter of months. This is entirely the Administration’s doing, and they can make this pain stop now.” 

In response to these disruptions, DEO launched the LA Region Small Business Resiliency Fund (SBRF) in September 2025 to deliver targeted financial relief to small businesses economically impacted by immigration enforcement. The SBRF is backed by an initial investment from the county’s Care First Community Investment (CFCI) program. In December 2025, DEO announced that 367 businesses had been awarded more than $1.53 million in grants as part of the program’s first funding round. The fund received over 3,400 applications from across the county, with awards prioritized based on criteria such as property damage, workforce loss, and location within enforcement-affected areas, including curfew zones. Due to overwhelming demand, the Board of Supervisors approved an additional $3.33 million in CFCI funding to expand the program, which will allow DEO to support more than 650 additional small businesses in upcoming rounds. 

Alongside financial assistance, DEO continues to partner with Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ Office of Immigrant Affairs (DCBA–OIA) to co-lead a comprehensive, multilingual response to support both small businesses, residents, and workers. In July 2025, DEO launched a Immigration Resources for Workers and Businesses webpage where businesses, workers and residents can access Know Your Rights (KYR) recorded webinars and informational cards, an immigration resource guide, and a small business toolkit. 

DEO has also expanded its Youth@Work programming to increase the number of paid work hours available, from 150 to up to 400, for youth and transitional-aged youth who have become primary earners due to family separations caused by immigration enforcement. DEO is working with America’s Job Centers of California (AJCCs), the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) to connect students and their families to these expanded opportunities.  

Details: Find the full report here: https://opportunity.lacounty.gov/immigration/.