President Donald Trump on Saturday called for the immediate approval of legislation that would block federal funding and tax benefits for nonprofit organizations allegedly involved in protests against immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), targets groups accused of playing a role in “organizing or enabling riots” during demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations earlier this month.
“CONGRESSMAN KEVIN KILEY’S, ‘NO TAX DOLLARS FOR RIOTS’ legislation, should be passed immediately,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I am hereby instructing my Administration not to pay ANY money to these radicalized groups, regardless of the legislation. They get paid to incite riots, burn down or destroy a city, then come back to the trough to get money to help rebuild it. NO MORE MONEY!!!”
The proposed legislation has not yet been made public.
At the center of the controversy is the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that has denied any involvement in unlawful activity.
“They’re saying the most vicious lies [about] who we are and what we do,” said CHIRLA Executive Director Angélica Salas in an interview with CBS News.
Kiley described the protests as a disruption of legitimate federal enforcement. “The violence we have witnessed in Los Angeles is a threat to the safety of our communities and federal officers, and it undermines democracy by obstructing the policies of a duly elected president from being implemented,” he said in a statement. “We need better tools to deter and punish this lawless and anti-democratic behavior.”
The demonstrations began in response to stepped-up ICE raids and courthouse arrests reportedly initiated at the direction of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Law enforcement deployed crowd control measures including flash-bang grenades, rubber bullets, and pepper balls. The federal government also mobilized thousands of National Guard troops and several hundred Marines.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Internal Revenue Service is involved in tracking the financial networks behind the protests. “We have the IRS here that’s helping us track how these violent protesters are funded,” Noem said. “What NGO is out there? What unions? What other individuals may be funding these violent perpetrators?”
Kiley has accused CHIRLA of broadcasting real-time locations of federal agents, claiming that several agents were assaulted with bricks and Molotov cocktails. Two individuals were charged with possession of Molotov cocktails, though no evidence has been presented linking them directly to the organization.
On the House floor, Kiley stated that his bill would ensure that “an organization like this whose officers are convicted of assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers, or of organizing, promoting, and encouraging participating in or carrying on a riot… loses their nonprofit status and is ineligible for federal funding going forward.”
Earlier this month, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, launched a separate investigation into CHIRLA’s alleged involvement in the protests.
“While peaceful protest is a cornerstone of American democracy, these demonstrations have escalated into lawless mob actions,” Hawley wrote in a letter to the organization requesting further information.
Hawley cited financial records showing CHIRLA received $34 million in state funding, as well as a $450,000 federal contract with the Department of Homeland Security for citizenship education and training. DHS said the contract was terminated and that it plans to withhold $101,000 in unpaid funds.
“Credible reporting now suggests that your organization has provided logistical support and financial resources to individuals engaged in these disruptive actions,” Hawley wrote. “Let me be clear: Bankrolling civil unrest is not protected speech. It is aiding and abetting criminal conduct.”
CHIRLA disputes the claims and maintains its activities have been lawful. Salas spoke at a June 6 press conference marking the start of the protests. “Our community is under attack and is being terrorized,” she said. “These are workers, these are fathers, these are mothers, and this has to stop.”
In a subsequent statement, Salas said: “We categorically reject any allegation that our work as an organization now and during the past 39 years providing services to immigrants and their families violates the law. Our mission is rooted in non-violent advocacy, community safety, and democratic values. We will not be intimidated for standing with immigrant communities and documenting the inhumane manner that our community is being targeted with the assault by the raids, the unconstitutional and illegal arrests, detentions, and the assault on our First Amendment rights.”
