Are Dena still fighting for healthcare for illegal immigrants?

Executive Summary — Short Answer and Key Finding

DENA Heals began as a mutual-aid and wellness effort that explicitly served families displaced by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, including undocumented residents, but the available records in the materials provided do not show clear, recent organizational advocacy specifically framed as “fighting for healthcare for illegal immigrants.” The documents reviewed include an originating description of DENA Heals’ mission from 2012 and several broader, recent analyses of undocumented immigrants’ healthcare access and related public funding or legal disputes; none of these items explicitly report ongoing, named DENA campaigns or litigation on behalf of undocumented migrants as of the latest items in this set (2012–2025) ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.

1. What DENA Heals originally said — A grassroots clinic with an inclusive mission

The founding description of DENA Heals frames it as a community-centered mutual aid marketplace and wellness center created after the Eaton Fire to provide urgent and long-term care to displaced families and explicitly includes undocumented residents among beneficiaries; the wording emphasizes building trust and prioritizing community needs over bureaucracy. That 2012 origin statement establishes an inclusive operational aim rather than a formal political or legal campaign expressly to secure governmental healthcare entitlements for people lacking immigration status. The founding text documents direct service and a healing-centered philosophy, not litigation or policy advocacy efforts, so it supports the factual claim that DENA served undocumented people but does not by itself prove ongoing political “fighting” for their healthcare rights ^[1].

2. Recent research and reporting — Broader context on undocumented healthcare access

A 2025 scoping review of qualitative research synthesizes recurring barriers—fear of deportation, language obstacles, cost and discrimination—and points to the effectiveness of inclusive community services and policy reforms in improving access; this literature context shows why groups like DENA Heals matter even if the review does not profile specific organizations ^[2]. Separate 2025 nursing advocacy commentary calls for clinicians to advocate for equitable care for undocumented patients, further illustrating a professional push toward inclusion in healthcare delivery. These sources establish the policy and practice backdrop against which any local mutual aid group’s work should be evaluated, and they highlight both the need for and the variety of non-governmental efforts addressing gaps ^{[3] [2]}.

3. Government funding and legal fights — What national-level action looks like

Federal-level documents and litigation referenced in this collection show a different axis of action: the Department of Homeland Security’s $77 million Shelter and Services grants in 2023 fund temporary shelter and related migrant costs but do not cover community clinic advocacy or name DENA ^[5]. Concurrently, a 2024 state-level lawsuit sought to limit public benefits for people without legal status, illustrating policy resistance to expanding publicly funded healthcare access. These items demonstrate that national funding and legal disputes shape the environment in which local actors operate, but they do not attribute direct involvement to DENA Heals in those policy arenas ^{[4] [5]}.

4. Local activism and protests — Community energy without DENA attribution

Local reporting from 2025 documents protests and community responses—such as demonstrations in Pasadena when ICE agents appeared—that show active municipal-level civic engagement and solidarity with immigrants; these public actions reflect an ecosystem of local advocacy. However, the materials provided do not link DENA Heals by name to those 2025 protests or to explicit ongoing campaigns to secure healthcare entitlements for undocumented residents. The factual pattern is that community organizations and professionals are engaged on the issue, but there is no direct documentary evidence in this set that DENA remains an active, named advocate for healthcare access for people without legal status beyond its initial mutual-aid role ^{[6] [3]}.

5. Bottom line and recommended next steps for verification

Based on the source set, the accurate conclusion is that DENA Heals has historically provided care to undocumented residents, but there is no confirmatory, recent evidence here that it is currently “fighting” for healthcare for people without legal status in the sense of policy campaigns, litigation, or named advocacy. To verify current activity, the next steps are to check DENA Heals’ own communications channels, local nonprofit filings, recent local news coverage, and community health coalition rosters; comparing those contemporaneous records against the background of 2023–2025 federal funding and 2024–2025 legal pressures will clarify whether DENA’s role remains primarily service provision or has expanded into explicit policy advocacy ^{[1] [5] [4]}.