At a time when D.C.’s immigrant communities are facing escalating and sustained federal attacks on their safety, stability, and access to essential services, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget fails to stabilize the systems they depend on and instead exacerbates existing inequalities through harmful cuts and underinvestment.
As in previous years, claims of limited resources have resulted in cuts to essential services and placed the burden of austerity on Black and brown working-class communities, including immigrant communities. Meanwhile, nearly half of all wealth is held by just 0.4% of households Rather than advancing revenue-raising solutions that reduce inequality and strengthen the social safety net, this proposal cuts housing, cash assistance, legal services, childcare, and paid leave. For immigrant communities across D.C., these decisions will deepen existing inequalities at a time of growing need. Ayuda urges DC Council to protect and restore the programs immigrant communities rely on and respectfully requests that the Council:
Restore level funding for the Access to Justice (ATJ) Initiative at $31.785M.
Mayor Bowser’s proposed budget cuts ATJ funding by 86%, reducing it to just $4.5 million. Through this funding, Ayuda provides critical legal services for low-income immigrants, including Project END, the Immigrant Legal Defense Program, and the Community Legal Interpreter Bank. As shared in Ayuda’s May 13th testimony, these cuts would force our organization to scale back services, turn away clients, and reduce access to essential legal support for immigrant communities across D.C.
Protect and strengthen survivor services by funding OVSJG Victims Services at $59.6 million and restoring the $700,000 cut to DHS Domestic Violence housing and crisis support programs.
The proposed cuts would weaken critical public safety infrastructure that ensures survivors can access legal representation, safe housing, language access, and trauma-informed services. At Ayuda, this funding support immigration legal representation, family law services, case management, and the Victim Services Interpreter Bank, all of which are essential to survivor safety and stability
Fully reinstate the DC Healthcare Alliance by investing $54.9 million to reverse the 2025 cuts to coverage and services.
This funding includes ending the age-based moratorium, restoring income eligibility to 215% of the federal poverty line, and reinstating medical care and essential services for adults impacted by the FY26 cuts. Ayuda commends Mayor Bowser’s decision not to impose additional cuts to the Alliance following last year’s devastating reductions. However, those cuts continue to harm immigrant communities, forcing residents to choose between accessing healthcare and maintaining financial stability while placing additional strain on an already overextended emergency care system. You can hear our full testimony in support of restoring the DC Healthcare Alliance here.
D.C. has the resources to invest in its immigrant residents yet continues to operate within a framework of scarcity despite extraordinary, concentrated wealth. This is a policy choice. Equitable revenue solutions exist that would allow the District to strengthen the social safety net and protect essential services but implementing them requires political will.
Without action, low-income immigrant communities and Black and brown working-class residents will continue to bear the burden of disinvestment. At a time of escalating federal attacks, aggressive immigration enforcement, and growing instability for working-class families across the District, the Council’s responsibility is clear: reject further disinvestment, protect essential services, and fully fund the systems immigrant communities depend on to survive and thrive.
Take Action
If you are a D.C. resident, use this form (to the right or below) to urge Councilmembers to protect and restore the programs immigrant communities rely on.