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Fact check: Who funded the anti ICE protests
1. Summary of the results
The anti-ICE protests received funding from three main sources:
- Government Funding: CHIRLA, a key organization involved in the protests, received approximately $34 million in government grants in fiscal 2023 [1], with 96% ($32.5 million) coming from the State of California [2]. This included:
$3 million from California's Department of Social Services
Previous DHS federal grants totaling $1.2 million
Two "Citizenship and Integration" grants totaling $193,030 (later terminated by Trump administration) [2]
Private Organizations: The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) was actively involved in funding and organizing protests [3]
- Wealthy Individual Donors: Billionaire Neville Roy Singham has reportedly channeled over $20 million into radical organizations [3], with connections to PSL through the "Singham Network" [1]
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual elements were missing from the original question:
- The protests were not spontaneous but carefully orchestrated events [4]
- Organizations like ActBlue were involved in coordinating and financing the demonstrations [4]
- The FBI is actively investigating the monetary connections behind the riots, particularly focusing on PSL and Singham-connected networks [5]
- CHIRLA's government funding was primarily intended for immigration assistance services, not specifically for protests [1]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The simple question "Who funded the protests?" could be misleading because:
- It suggests a simple funding structure, when in reality there was a complex network of government grants, private organizations, and wealthy donors
- Different stakeholders benefit from different narratives:
CHIRLA benefits from emphasizing their legitimate government-funded services
State of California might want to distance itself from protest activities while maintaining support for immigration services
Organizations like PSL benefit from downplaying their connections to foreign-linked donors like Singham
Law enforcement agencies, particularly the FBI, have an interest in highlighting potential illegal funding connections [5]
The funding structure reveals a complex intersection of government policy, private activism, and international influence in American immigration politics.