5TH ANNUAL STATE OF IMMIGRANTS IN L.A. COUNTY REPORT SHOWS HOW L.A. RESPONDS TO THE NEEDS OF IMMIGRANTS IN ITS ONGOING COMMITMENT TO IMMIGRANT INCLUSION
LOS ANGELES, July 11, 2024 – The USC Equity Research Institute (ERI), in partnership with the California Community Foundation and the Council on Immigrant Inclusion, today released its 5th annual State of Immigrants in Los Angeles (SOILA) report at the 5th Annual Immigration Summit, happening July 11th and 12th at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (LATTC). This year’s report investigates immigrant demographics, and nine different issue areas important to understanding the needs of immigrant communities, including: linguistic isolation, naturalization, digital divide, employment, deportation cases and legal representation, and access to safety net services. SOILA 2024 provides analysis on indicators over time; key highlights from a survey administered to immigrant Angeleno communities; and recommendations for L.A. County leaders to keep our region moving on the path toward inclusion for all.
SOILA 2024 finds that L.A. County must contend with a challenging social and political landscape. Immigrant advocates find themselves juggling ongoing global humanitarian crises, exclusionary federal immigration policies, a looming presidential election, and statewide budget cuts that infringe on much-needed services to immigrant communities. Here at home, housing affordability remains out of reach for many while barriers to language access exclude immigrant residents from critical services. These issues, among others, directly impact the livelihood of the 3.5 million immigrants that have built lives in our county.
“In this pivotal year, local leaders from philanthropy to government must continue to be accountable to immigrant Angeleno communities that make this region all that it is,” said Manuel Pastor, Director of the USC Equity Research Institute. “This report provides the information necessary to make tangible change that can get L.A. County closer to the welcoming region we envision it to be—and to further develop a model for the nation of why immigrant inclusion can benefit us all.”
“Immigrant inclusion is critical to a thriving multiracial democracy, especially now as our democratic values are under attack,” said Miguel A. Santana, President and CEO of the California Community Foundation. ” To continue advancing a bold, intersectional, and immigrant-inclusive agenda, we need reliable data from trusted sources connected to the community. CCF is proud to once again collaborate with our partners at USC and the Council on Immigrant Inclusion to present this year’s S.O.I.L.A. report, which not only tells us where we’ve been on immigrant inclusion in LA County, but more importantly where we need to go.”
Even as this landscape exacerbates existing challenges and creates new ones, immigrant Angelenos of all statuses are settled into our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. Just as important, they find support in a robust ecosystem of immigrant-serving groups and institutions that represent their needs to decision makers who are accountable to making this region a welcoming one. To support their efforts in this crucial moment, L.A. County leaders must build upon previous policy wins and strengthen our commitment to the millions of immigrants that call this region home.
Language Access for L.A. County Immigrants
One of these ongoing commitments is the work on language access as L.A. County has made dedicated investments through the County’s Language Access Plan. The data supports that these and additional investments remain critical. Figure 1 investigates this issue by measuring “linguistically isolated” households—defined as households in which no member aged 14 or older speaks English at least “very well.” It finds that, in 2021, more than 1 in every 4 Asian American immigrant households (27 percent) lived in a linguistically isolated household; followed by over 1 in every 5 Latino immigrant households (22 percent). Also, important to note is that Black immigrant households have experienced lower rates of linguistic isolation over time, but between 2020 and 2021, there was a significant uptick for this community (more than doubling from 4 percent to 10 percent) – indicating a potential increase in need.
Figure 1. Share of Immigrant Population in Linguistically Isolated Households by Race/Ethnicity, L.A. County, 2012 – 2021
Source: USC Equity Research Institute analysis of 2016 and 2021 5-year American Community Survey microdata from IPUMS USA. Note: Universe includes foreign-born residents in households (excludes group quarters). Single-year weights were estimated by multiplying the 5-year pooled and undercount weights by five. A household is considered to be linguistically isolated when no member aged 14 years or older speaks only English or speaks English at least very well. See “Data and Methods” section of the full report for details on estimates of the undocumented and LPR population.
Recommendation to County Leaders: Asian American and Latino immigrant households stand to benefit greatly from language access resources as they have consistently faced the highest rates of linguistic isolation among immigrants in this county. The same is true for Black immigrant households who have also seen a pronounced increase in linguistic isolation. There have been promising steps forward to ensure all Angelenos receive access to services in their preferred language, and continued attention to this issue will only propel the region further in the fight for language accessibility.
Legal Representation for L.A. County Immigrants
Another step L.A. County has taken in the journey toward immigrant inclusion is the multi-million-dollar, public-private investment that resulted in the RepresentLA (RLA) program. RLA provides critical legal representation not only to those in detention or with active removal cases, but also those seeking to adjust their status before the threat of removal becomes a reality. This type of programming is especially important when we look at the outcomes of deportation cases when legal representation is absent. As seen in Figure 2, deportation cases in the county from 2001-2021 were much more likely to end in a removal order if the defendant lacked legal representation. When legal representation was present, the range of outcomes changes drastically, with removal orders dropping from 71 percent to under 20 percent–showing the immense importance of having legal representation.
Figure 2. Deportation Cases by Legal Representation and Case Outcome, L.A. County, 2001 – 2021
Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University, trac.syr.edu, State and County Details on Deportation Proceedings in Immigration Court, https://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/nta/.Universe: All deportation proceedings initiated by the Department of Homeland Security and its predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, for immigrants residing in California.
Recommendation to County Leaders: In recognition of the drastic impact that legal counsel has on the outcome of deportation cases, L.A. County must continue to create innovative policy and programs that situate Los Angeles as an influential leader in immigrant inclusion. In light of the upcoming election, it is especially important that L.A. County is prepared to face a challenging immigration policy landscape once more. Ensuring that immigrants have adequate support to fight their cases is one way our region can express its support for immigrants. It is critical that Los Angeles leaders look to the blueprint of groundbreaking programs like RepresentLA as an example of the type of policy that effectively responds to very real issues faced by immigrant communities.
The goal of SOILA 2024 was to highlight where L.A. County is situated within the larger context of our state, nation, and globe—to see where we have set ourselves apart and where we still have work to do. As a county home to millions of immigrants from across the world, it will always be within the best interest of this region to not only address the issues that immigrants and their families face, but to proactively honor their contributions to our society in a way that makes it so they can thrive. As we look to the future, L.A. County has a lot to be proud of and much work left on the table.
