Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) Los Angeles

CARECEN-LA oversees immigrant networks, provides legal services to immigrants, and supports local and national pro-immigrant policies. The group is critical of U.S. immigration policy, particularly under President Donald Trump, and attributes much of Central America’s emigration to local instability prompted by U.S. foreign policy.

CARECEN-LA is a member of Check the Sheriff, a coalition of left-wing groups aligned against the homelessness policies of Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva (D). ² CARECEN-LA had previously supported Sheriff Villanueva’s initiative to end the transfer of detained immigrants from LA County to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a warrant. ³

History

In 1983, the Central American Refugee Center was founded by Salvadoran refugees fleeing a civil war in El Salvador. The group, soon to be known as Central American Resource Center Los Angeles, initially provided support networks for refugees, but soon branched out into activism. In 1984, members of the group held a 15-day hunger strike to protest the deportation of Salvadoran refugees by the administration of President Ronald Reagan. In 1985, CARECEN-LA joined a lawsuit led by the American Baptist Church against the federal government. The groups alleged discrimination against Salvadorans and Guatemalans and ultimately made a settlement out of court to provide special refugee status protections to the two groups. ⁴

In 1994, CARECEN-LA campaigned against Proposition 187, a measure to establish a state-run citizen screening system to prevent illegal immigrants from using public services. ⁴

In 2006, CARECEN co-organized a protest against HR 4437, which would have enhanced penalties for immigration violations. ⁴

Programs

Legal Services

Central American Resource Center Los Angeles provides both free and paid legal services to illegal and legal immigrants, including deportation defenses, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) cases, and family petitions. ⁵

Day Labor Center

The CARECEN-LA Day Labor Center connects immigrant laborers with businesses for employment opportunities. In early 2020, the Center was evicted from its headquarters in Westlake, Los Angeles for being a “nuisance” and a “blight” on the local community. The landowner published a letter to CARECEN citing instances of drug use, alcohol use, public urination, vandalism, and theft in and around the building. CARECEN staged protests against the eviction and attributed the unseemly events to a surge in local poverty which the Center sought to alleviate. ⁶

Education

CARECEN-LA runs classes for immigrant youths on English language, college preparation, LGBT issues, and more. The group also provides citizenship classes for immigrants preparing to quality for U.S. citizenship. ⁷

Advocacy

Central American Resource Center Los Angeles advocates for a wide range of local and national policies which facilitate immigration. ⁸

U.S. Border

CARECEN-LA works with youth and family groups on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border to provide basic services to immigrants and advocate for the expansion of government-provided services. The group also partners with Al Otro Lado, a pro bono legal organization for immigrants, to monitor for abuses committed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, particularly during the administration of President Donald Trump. ⁹

In November 2018, ICE agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of hundreds of Mexicans standing in Tijuana on the Mexican side of the U.S. border. CARECEN-LA, which operates in the immigration facilities in Tijuana, condemned the action, blamed the U.S. government for prompting the swell of immigration, and asked the government to grant access to all Latin American refugees. ¹⁰

Foreign Policy

CARECEN-LA attributes the refugee crises of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala to instability in the region caused by US foreign policy, particularly the support for right-leaning authoritarian regimes. CARECEN-LA advocates for foreign policy proposals designed to stabilize the region and counteract prior interventions. For instance, the group supports the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, a long-proposed bill which would end all foreign aid to the Honduran military and police until human rights abuses are independently investigated. ⁹

Funding

Central American Resource Center Los Angeles and the other CARECEN affiliates in Washington D.C., New York, and San Fransisco are funded by numerous left-of-center organizations. The groups have received $897,000 from the California Community Foundation, $422,000 from the Weingart Foundation, $150,000 from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, $148,000 from the Fineshriber Family Foundation, $134,000 from UnidosUS, $125,000 from Unbound Philanthropy, $77,000 from United Way of Los Angeles, $75,000 from the Annenberg Foundation, $67,000 from the San Francisco Foundation, $57,000 to the Liberty Hill Foundation, and $20,000 from the Ford Foundation. ¹¹