A budget is a moral document – what we fund is what we deem important. But D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s recently proposed fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget contains a wide range of cuts to the social safety net which will disproportionally harm low-income immigrants. The alarming cuts proposed would gut programs that immigrants who call this city home rely on, including:
- A $21 million cut to the Access to Justice Initiative, which funds Ayuda’s legal interpreter bank, legal services for newly arrived migrants, and Project END, a unique Ayuda program designed to prevent immigration legal services fraud.
- $1 million in cuts to domestic violence services and nearly $6 million in cuts to crime victim services which fund Ayuda’s trauma-informed and client-centered legal, social, and language access services.
- The phasing out of adults age 21 and older from the Healthcare Alliance Program, which currently covers basic health care services for 27,000 low-income adults who are ineligible for Medicaid, many of whom are Ayuda clients or other immigrant community members.
- The removal of asylum-seekers from the list of vulnerable individuals who are exempt from having to provide proof of D.C. residency when seeking shelter, protections granted under the Homeless Services Reform Act.
Additionally, the Mayor’s proposed budget includes a devastating attack on sanctuary policies that keep our neighbors safe: an amendment intended to repeal the District’s sanctuary city law, which limits collaboration between local government agencies and federal immigration authorities.
This budget proposal follows months of unprecedented and drastic DOGE cuts to critical, life-saving programs, and projected cuts to social safety net funding in the federal reconciliation spending bill. It also comes amid weeks of targeted immigration enforcement in the region, which has terrorized and separated families across the District.
The bottom line is clear: The D.C. Council must reject and remove these anti-immigrant proposals from the FY26 budget.
How You Can Help
Throughout this budget season, we’re calling on the D.C. Council to stand with our immigrant neighbors. By adding your voice, you can make this critical advocacy stronger.
If you are D.C. a resident*, contacting your Councilmember can have a big impact. Click here to identify your Councilmember and get their contact information. To make outreach easy, we’ve drafted sample language for your emails and/or calls:
Email your Councilmember
Use the sample language below as helpful to email your D.C. Councilmember about the Mayor’s proposed budget.
Subject: Please prioritize critical DC programs in FY26 budget
Dear [Councilmember name],
I live in Ward [insert number]. I am reaching out because I am deeply concerned about the Mayor’s proposed FY26 budget and its impact on immigrants, particularly low-income immigrant survivors of crime. I am most concerned about:
- The insertion of language to repeal the Sanctuary Values Amendment Act, which helps build trust between MPD and the immigrant community.
- The $21M cut from the Access to Justice Initiative, which funds civil legal services for all DC residents.
- The $1 million in cuts to domestic violence services and nearly $6 million in cuts to crime victim services.
- The phasing out of adults from the Healthcare Alliance Program, which currently covers basic health care services for 27,000 low-income adults.
- The removal of asylum-seekers from the list of vulnerable individuals who are exempt from having to show proof of residency when seeking shelter.
These protections, services, and programs are critical for our low-income immigrant neighbors, who often face linguistic, cultural, and financial obstacles. D.C. should remain a place where immigrants have a fair chance at safety and stability for themselves and their families – we should not turn our backs on them. For this reason, I am asking you to reject the above proposals from the FY26 budget.
Sincerely,
[Name]
Call your Councilmember
Use the sample language below to call your D.C. Councilmember about the Mayor’s proposed budget.
Hi, my name is [name] and I live in Ward [Ward number]. I am calling because I am deeply concerned about the Mayor’s proposed FY26 budget and its impact on immigrants, particularly low-income immigrant survivors of crime. I am most concerned about the repeal of the Sanctuary Values Act, the removal of asylum-seekers from protection under the Homeless Services Reform Act exemption, the $21M cut from Access to Justice, the $1M cut from domestic violence services, the $6M in cuts to crime victim services, and the phasing out of adults from the Healthcare Alliance Program. I am asking for Councilmember [name] to remove these harmful proposals from the FY26 budget – they will only hurt our immigrant communities during a time in which it is critical that we support them.
D.C. is stronger and more vibrant because of our immigrant community members. Let’s stand together with them and call on the D.C. Council to preserve the critical protections and programs that they rely on.
*Not a D.C. resident? You can still help by sharing this post with the District dwellers in your life!