Hundreds of small Los Angeles County businesses that county officials say were hammered by federal immigration enforcement just got a financial lifeline. This week, the county sent out emergency grants totaling about $3.6 million to more than 850 small businesses, money meant to plug holes in payroll, rent, and basic repairs after raids and curfews scared off customers. The cash comes from the county’s Small Business Resiliency Fund. Applications for this round are closed, and businesses that were not selected have been moved to a waitlist in case more money shows up later.
Latest round reaches hundreds of mom-and-pop operations
As reported by LAist, this latest round of awards pushes the total distributed through the Small Business Resiliency Fund to roughly $3.6 million, covering more than 850 recipients across the county. According to the report, the grants are aimed at mom-and-pop firms that lost workers or regulars after immigration enforcement actions ramped up last summer and spooked entire neighborhoods.
How the fund works
The Small Business Resiliency Fund offers one-time grants of up to $5,000 to qualifying businesses to cover rent, payroll, equipment repairs, inventory replacement, and other immediate recovery bills, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity’s program description. DEO rolled out multilingual application guides and teamed up with community-based organizations to help business owners verify eligibility during the fall application window. These supports were designed to reduce hurdles for non-English speakers and street vendors, per DEO's Small Business Resiliency Fund page.
Where the money came from
The new awards build on a December distribution that sent $1.53 million to 367 businesses, followed by a Board decision to steer additional Care First Community Investment funds into the program, according to the county’s news release. “Small businesses are the heart of our communities and the engine of our local economy,” Los Angeles County Board Chair Hilda L. Solis said in a county statement on the program, per County of Los Angeles. The grants are small compared with the broader damage, but county leaders are pitching them as an emergency patch while they look for longer-term fixes.
The economic toll officials want to reverse
A February analysis prepared for the county by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Economic Opportunity estimated that immigration enforcement activity between June and December 2025 cost the region about 11,730 jobs, $932 million in lost labor income, and $2.5 billion in lost economic output. The final report also found that most surveyed businesses saw daily sales and customer traffic drop after the raids, a data point county officials leaned on when arguing for emergency relief (DEO/LAEDC report). On paper, at least, the hit to the local economy was far larger than the grant pool now going out.
Who administered the awards, and who applied
AidKit, the program’s third-party administrator, is handling award notifications, while SoCal Grantmakers is serving as fiscal sponsor after the fund drew more than 3,400 applications, according to the county. Eligible businesses that did not get picked this round were placed on a waitlist and will hear from administrators only if additional funding becomes available, per the County of Los Angeles. For now, a lot of hopeful applicants are stuck in limbo, watching email inboxes and bank accounts.
What’s next for struggling businesses
DEO and its community partners are urging businesses that missed out this time to stay connected with approved community-based organizations for technical assistance, eligibility guidance, and other support. Officials are steering owners to existing resources while they wait for any future rounds of funding. For more on who qualifies, how the application process works, and where to find local help, DEO directs business owners to its Small Business Resiliency Fund page (DEO).
