6.25.25

In the wake of the ICE raids that happened in LA — I wanted to better understand some demographics around the immigrant population in LA.

Here is what I found:

Los Angeles County is the home of 3.5 million immigrants (35% of total county).

800k of those are undocumented (7% of total county)

Only 65% of total Los Angeles County are US-born

18% of Angelenos are either undocumented themselves or live with a family member who is

70% of LA’s immigrant population have been living here for over a decade

Immigrant workers make up almost 40% of all employed workers in LA County .

–59% of construction jobs (28% undocumented)

–56% of manufacturing jobs (18% undocumented)

–55% of agriculture jobs (24% undocumented)

–54% of wholesale trade jobs (15% undocumented)

National US economic data indicates that immigration creates jobs and boosts demand and the economy and is therefore beneficial to native workers overall.

There is evidence supporting that “low-skill workers” in the US do often face wage competition with immigrants however.

A (theoretical) halt in immigration in the US would initiate population decline in the US which would deeply harm economic growth.

In the US, immigrants do pay taxes (legal and undocumented.) The Social Security Administration estimates that undocumented immigrants $12 Billion per year towards benefits they can’t receive (like social security).

Averaged out across total populations – new immigrants have a net positive impact and reduce the federal budget by $10k over their lifetime. The average native born citizen is expected to cost $250k over their lifetime.

Highly educated immigrants under the age of 35 reduce the budget deficit by over $1M in net present value.

In 2022, immigrants consumed 21% less welfare and entitlement benefits per capita than native-born Americans.

Today’s immigrants are 30% less likely to be incarcerated than US-born individuals who are white and 60% less likely than total native population.

Research examining crime rates in sanctuary cities found no discernible difference when compared to non-sanctuary cities.

Overall crime has gone down year over year since 2022 in cities targeted by Texas’ Operation Lone Star (Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, New York, Los Angeles).

March 26, 2025

The idea of doing this has been rattling around in my head for a number of years now. 

But like a lot of other creative ideas I have – I came up with every excuse for why it didn’t make sense to do. Why it wasn’t going to be worth the time and effort.  Why it would never be worth anyone’s attention in the first place. 

But then the fires happened. 

Starting this year off watching the Los Angeles fires unfold on our city and wreak havoc on our communities and on my friends and their livelihoods shifted something in me. First there was the devastation.  Everyone living here was affected in some way. None more than those who lost loved ones, or their entire livelihoods, or both, in a matter of minutes.  

But outside the live coverage of the flames something weird and all-to-familiar started happening as well — accusations, politics, misinformation, confusion, and hysteria started circulating.  We all wanted answers that probably didn’t exist yet, which is totally normal.  But I think what really struck me was literally no one I spoke to or read seemingly had their bearings on how to look at this event, and the city’s way of handing it.

That feeling stuck with me.  It also wasn’t the first time I had had it.  It wasn’t unique to just the fires.  

During the flurry of all of it — it was really hard to figure out where to put my attention or energy. So I scrambled for information, voices to listen to, ways to get involved.  Some ended up legitimate, others not at all.   

After the fires, just like after any tragic event at all — we are left with the same questions: what could we have done to prevent this from happening?  And how do we make sure this never happens again?

——

My idea for Project LA is to create a publication dedicated to understanding how a city with so much talent, so many resources, such a thriving culture – can be afflicted with so many problems. And more importantly, figuring out what the real solutions to those problems are.

Whether it’s the housing crisis, stalled public transportation projects, unsustainable water supply, lack of access to green spaces etc. LA as a city is faced with a lot of problems. And despite voters and city government continually setting goals (and spending the money) to address these issues, it feels like we are continually falling short.

My goal with this is to tap into the best minds and theories about why that is happening.  What is truly causing our problems and what are the real solutions that can actionably make LA a better city, a better place to live.

I am calling it a solutions journalism project because I plan to orient everything I cover around solutions for the city. That coverage will hopefully include many more voices than my own. I hope to eventually collaborate with people with a wide range of perspectives and feature those perspectives on this platform.  

This will not be a call to defund or deactivate the government’s role in helping to solve these issues. Quite the opposite — I am choosing to first focus on housing and public infrastructure and clean energy topics because those are spheres that I strongly believe the government can make enormous positive influence in. I believe in that function for our government. I also view the private sector’s role as critical as well.

I am also not interested in making this an advocacy platform for one political party or the other. I’m sick of party politics. I realize it is impossible for any individual to be without bias, but I do think due diligence and fairness and open-mindedness are real objectives that I will strive for.

——-

I love Los Angeles and I believe deeply in what it represents and has to offer as a city through its diversity, its creativity, its ingenuity, its natural beauty.

I believe the way out where we are now is to educate and ground ourselves as citizens of Los Angeles deeply in these issues that we face, not the talking points of our political parties.  

Welcome to Project LA. 

For submissions — projectlasubmissions@gmail.com