
Our Work
National, State & Local Policy
Immigrants at the National Level
About 44 million immigrants live and work in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s about 13.5 percent of the U.S. population. Of them, 19.8 million are naturalized citizens; 11.9 million are Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs); and 2.1 million have temporary legal status, including 689,800 with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and 300,000 with Temporary Protection Status (TPS).
About 11 million immigrants are undocumented, and many have both deep roots in the community and citizen family members. For example, 16.7 million people in the country have at least one undocumented family member; 8 million U.S. citizens have at least one undocumented family member; and 5.9 million citizen children live with at least one undocumented family member.
CHIRLA’s goals are:
- A just and humane immigration system that provides access to permanent legal status, family unity, and worker protections
- Protection of the human and civil rights of immigrant families
- Less funding to deport immigrants and separate families
- More oversight of all agencies in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
CHIRLA mobilizes its members to push for fair, pro-immigrant policies, and overhaul of the immigration system.
COVID-19
CHIRLA's Federal, State and Local Response to COVID-19
On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The ensuing worldwide crisis exposed systemic weaknesses that hamper immigrant access to key services. Government at all levels must respond swiftly, compassionately, and equitably, always accounting for the unique challenges facing immigrants and refugees.
CHIRLA Advocating for All Immigrants
Watch Angelica Salas on Democracy Now (32:00)
Federal COVID-19 Response Timeline
- Mar 6, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020

CHIRLA Responds to passage of the CARES Act
Immigrants workers put food on our tables, care for our children and elderly, clean our homes, deliver and stock our groceries, and staff our health care facilities, but the $2 trillion CARES bill excluded them. This is cruel, shortsighted and at odds with any serious attempt to tackle this crisis.

Our Demands on Immigration Enforcement and Detention
- We call for a complete halt of immigration enforcement during this pandemic. In the same week Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Governor Newsom issued a stay-at-home order, ICE agents executed an enforcement operation. After severe pressure, ICE suggested it would halt most arrests and deportations, focusing only on “public safety risks” and people “subject to mandatory detention based on criminal grounds,” However, no policy directive was issued to provide a uniformity, and detentions instead went up in March.
- We call for the release of all immigrants in, and a halt to any expansion of, detention centers.
- Immigrants face choosing between their health or fighting for a chance to stay. While immigration courts are closed until May 1 for cases involving people out on bond,, they continue to prosecute cases in detention.
- CHIRLA joins 70 advocacy organizations in requesting that all immigration courts close during this pandemic.

California’s Actions to Combat COVID-19
In the absence of inclusive and equitable relief for immigrants from the federal government during the emergency, CHIRLA joins 60 organizations in urging California to create a state response for immigrant communities including access testing treatment, and economic relief.
On March 19, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a stay-at-home order for all of California—the first in the nation. That week, the Legislature approved $1 billion in new spending to combat COVID-19.
In Newsom’s order, only essential industries and essential workers can operate. About one-third of California’s essential workforce is immigrant, and fills a crucial gap to help California meet this unprecedented challenge. Immigrants care for the sick and ensure our food security during the COVID-19 crisis. In 2016, almost one in four California doctors had graduated from a foreign medical school, a likely sign they were born elsewhere. Also, 121,141 of our nurses (36 percent) are foreign-born. Of the state’s nursing assistants, home health aides and psychiatric workers, 90,217 (44 percent) are foreign-born.
Sean Tan member of the California Dream Network, CHIRLA’s college state-wide youth program, to participate in She the People-Congressional Women of Color Town Hall focused on COVID-19 Relief in Congress. Sean spoke about his own experience, his concerns and asked Rep. Chu a question. Watch the video here (40 min mark).

Los Angeles City and County Actions to Combat COVID-19
On March 19, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a Safer at Home order that required residents to shelter in place. Since March 4, Garcetti has issued 13 COVID-19 orders, including an emergency declaration, to detail what residents can do and how city workers should respond. The City Council approved $20 million in reserve funds to respond to COVID-19 and activated the Disaster Service Worker program.
In the absence of inclusive and equitable COVID-19 relief from the federal government for immigrants, a coalition of 70 organizations, including CHIRLA, urged the city and county to create a plan to prevent mass evictions, expand county health programs, help those who do not qualify for federal aid, and work with law enforcers to keep from turning immigrants over to ICE.
For the moment, here are the most important city actions:
COVID-19 testing In Los Angeles is free for everyone, though it is currently limited to people showing symptoms or those who can’t work because they’ve been exposed to an infected person. Also, there is priority for the elderly and those with underlying illnesses, and first responders or essential workers. People can apply through a diagnostic portal to determine eligibility. City officials are working to increase capacity for more testing.
A local moratorium on evictions is in place through Garcetti’s emergency order of March 15, which expressly barred landlords from evicting tenants who experience the following:
- Reduced hours or loss of income because of workplace closure
- Loss of income or child care costs because of school closures
- Health care bills because a tenant or a member of the tenant’s household has COVID-19
- Reasonable costs stemming from government emergency measures
- CHIRLA worked with The City and Los Angeles County in the approval of separate measures to create a rental assistance program and expand eviction protections. These programs are likely to be implemented in May, 2020.

Joseph Villela
Policy & Advocacy Director
Joseph Villela is director of policy and advocacy at CHIRLA. He has dedicated his career to changing policy through direct engagement with immigrants, workers, and other impacted communities throughout California. Joseph is a dedicated and accomplished government relation professional with more than a decade of experience in monitoring, analyzing legislation, with a successful legislative track resulting in the enactment of countless state proposals and millions in investments for programs to integrate immigrant populations. At CHIRLA, he has developed and managed legislative and budget campaigns to improve the lives of the most vulnerable Californians. Joseph is a University of Los Angeles California (UCLA) graduate and is a proud parent of a 7-year-old.

Carl Bergquist
Policy Counsel
Carl Bergquist, a social justice advocate and an immigrant from Sweden, helps steer CHIRLA’s advocacy efforts at the national level. He holds a law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. While in Hawaiʻi, he was Executive Director for the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaiʻi, working to reform racist drug laws that hurt immigrants and Native Hawaiians. Carl has a master´s degree in Ethnic and Migration Studies from the University of Amsterdam, and a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.

Christopher Sanchez
Policy Advocate
Christopher Sanchez is CHIRLA’s representative in legislative circles in Sacramento. He advances CHIRLA’s state legislative platform as he educates and builds relationships with members of the Legislature, state agencies, and other policy making bodies that impact the lives of immigrants in California. Christopher has worked on criminal justice reform, expanding access to higher education, workers’ rights, and the environment. Campaigns he has worked on include Education Not Deportation, which halted a close friend’s deportation, and the passage of AB 539, which protects Californians from predatory loans.

Mariana Magaña
Policy Advocate
Mariana Magaña is the local policy advocate at CHIRLA. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA and is a former executive fellow through Sacramento State University and the office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Born in Jalisco, Mexico and raised in Santa Monica, Mariana is passionate about inclusive immigration policy and challenging conventional immigrant narratives.
CHIRLA has been serving and protecting the immigrant community since 1986. We're a nonprofit organization that relies largely on your support to getting our work done. Please pledge your support today!