Did California pay the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) more than $100 million mainly to fund protests? No, that's not true: California's payments to CHIRLA were overwhelmingly tied to immigration legal services and social welfare programs. There is no evidence in state budget records that any funds were used to pay or organize protesters.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on February 22, 2026. The text in the post read:
🚨🧵CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT PAYING PROTESTORS OVER $100M
I have discovered that the state of California is using taxpayer funds to subsidize non-profit organizations whose core function is to organize protests.
CHIRLA (@CHIRLA) has taken over $100M alone in tax-payer funds according to the state expenditure website.
Based on their website, CHIRLA's primary function is protest-related activities and left-wing advocacy. They have been protesting and advocating since 1986 and take credit for some Newsom policies.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of X post.)
The social media post links to the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) website, which shows how the state manages its finances. The image from the post is a screenshot from the FI$Cal site, sorted for payments to CHIRLA. Using the same website (archived here), Lead Stories also came up with the $115 million payout to CHIRLA for the 2019-2025 fiscal years:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of FI$Cal website.)
State of California
The bar graphs on the site show that $113 million of the $115 million, or 98%, paid to CHIRLA by the state in those years came from California's Department of Social Services. A budget document (archived here) says:
The mission of the Department of Social Services is to serve, aid, and protect needy and vulnerable children and adults in ways that strengthen and preserve families, encourage personal responsibility, and foster independence. The Department accomplishes its mission through the operation and oversight of a variety of programs that provide cash assistance, social services, disability evaluation, community care licensing, and other services.
The document shows three years of expenditures (2022-2024 fiscal years), and there is no evidence that any program directly funds protests or protesters. There are no state-funded or federally funded line items for protest payments, activist stipends, demonstration organizing, or political advocacy activities. All state funds are tied to public assistance, health and human services, caregiving, disability eligibility, protective services, and administrative operations.
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights
Jorge-Mario Cabrera, director of communications for CHIRLA, said in a February 23, 2026, email to Lead Stories that "CHIRLA has not received any state funding for organizing or civic engagement," adding "CHIRLA's engagement and advocacy work does not include paying for protesters." He also disputed the post's claim that the group's "core function [was] to organize protests," saying:
CHIRLA empowers immigrant communities through education, litigation, advocacy, and organizing efforts as well [as] offer legal immigration services including family petitions, U-visa and VAWA [Violence Against Women Act] applications, naturalizations, deportation defense, and DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] renewals and college services.
We offer community education programs, such as workshops on workers rights and immigrant Know Your Rights, and available support systems.
And we engage in advocacy and civic engagement, registered people to vote, encouraging to participate in elections, and advocate for changes in policy around housing, healthcare, immigration, education, and other issues.
CHIRLA has been accused of funding the June 2025 protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles, some of which became violent. The non-profit has held press events opposing immigration roundups but denies funding or participating in the protests. Cabrera added:
CHIRLA is committed to advocacy grounded in democratic values. We promote peaceful engagement and civic participation. We reject any claims that we participate in or support violent actions.
