Impacts of Immigration Enforcement on LGBT Adult Immigrants in LA County

During his campaign, President Donald Trump stated that he would reduce pathways for legal immigration and remove immigrants without documentation from the U.S. On January 20, 2025, he signed an executive order, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” directing federal agencies to intensify efforts to identify, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants. In the following months, Trump administration officials tripled daily immigration arrest quotas from 1,000 to 3,000 by the end of May. On Friday, June 7, widespread Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations occurred across Los Angeles, leading to at least 40 arrests on Friday alone and over 100 by the end of the weekend, prompting widespread protests. Trump officials have since vowed to continue enforcement operations in Los Angeles “every day.” Against the will of the Governor of California, President Trump also federalized the California National Guard, deploying 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the streets of Los Angeles in response to the protests.

Using previous Williams Institute studies and reports from the University of Southern California Dornsife Equity Research Institute5 and the Pew Research Center,6 this brief estimates the number of foreign-born LGBT adults in Los Angeles County potentially affected by the executive order and subsequent activities toward mass deportations.