Immigrant Legal Defense
Immigrant Legal Defense reported $14.2 million in revenue and $9.5 million in expenses for calendar year 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $87.77 went to program services, $10.27 to management and general costs and $1.96 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 98.3% of the total. Government grants made up 34.5%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $233,402 (CO-EXEC DIR). 39 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 411% between 2020 and 2025. Source: Form 990, 2025.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $9.5MFor context, the median across 274 covered crime & legal-related charities: $87.85 programs, $11.30 management, $0.85 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $14MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 87.8% | 86.7% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 10.3% | 11.1% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 2.0% | 0.8% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.01 | $0.01 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 98.3% | 94.8% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 34.5% | 50.1% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $233,402 | $245,814 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 2.45% | 1.41% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 39 | 8 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 9.9 | 6.4 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 3 of 3 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseILDs Educational-Legal Partnerships in California focus on providing free, high-quality immigration legal services to our states students from kindergarten through higher education. By partnering with school systems, including nine California State University (CSU) campuses, thirty-four California Community College campuses, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), West Contra Costa County Unified School District and partnerships with schools in Sonoma County ILD is able to address the urgent, gaping immigration legal needs of youth, immigrant families, unaccompanied minors and asylum…
Highest reported compensation
2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO-EXEC DIR Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $190,846 | $0 | $42,556 | $233,402 |
| MANAGING ATTORNEY Listed in Part VII, 40.00 hrs/week | $190,696 | $0 | $39,170 | $229,866 |
| MANAGING ATTORNEY Listed in Part VII, 40.00 hrs/week | $189,738 | $0 | $29,864 | $219,602 |
| MANAGING ATTORNEY Listed in Part VII, 40.00 hrs/week | $184,108 | $0 | $21,015 | $205,123 |
| MANAGING ATTORNEY Listed in Part VII, 40.00 hrs/week | $183,874 | $0 | $17,779 | $201,653 |
| MANAGING ATTORNEY Listed in Part VII, 40.00 hrs/week | $188,758 | $0 | $9,776 | $198,534 |
| CO-EXEC DIR Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $190,156 | $0 | $8,137 | $198,293 |
| FINANCE DTR Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $143,053 | $0 | $18,406 | $161,459 |
39 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Immigrant Legal Defense (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $1.7M (Part IX, line 5).
7 filings since FY2019 (8 mo.)
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b3 · 3 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 548
- Volunteers Part I, line 6450
Private foundation grants it received
7 private foundations reported grants to Immigrant Legal Defense totaling $258K on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Immigrant Legal Defense's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Immigrant Legal Defense, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Immigrant Legal Defense spent in 2025, $87.77 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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- Fbi-LeedaMalvern, PA · revenue $14M · programs 86.6% · 2024
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- Georgia Bar FoundationAtlanta, GA · revenue $14M · programs 97.0% · FY2025
All crime & legal-related charities · Largest charities in California
Questions people ask
How much of Immigrant Legal Defense's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2025, Immigrant Legal Defense reported that 87.8% of its $9.5 million in expenses went to program services, 10.3% to management and general and 2.0% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Immigrant Legal Defense pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Immigrant Legal Defense reported for one person in calendar year 2025 was $233,402, for the role of CO-EXEC DIR (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Immigrant Legal Defense get its money?
Of $14.2 million in revenue in calendar year 2025, 98.3% came from contributions and grants (including 34.5% from government grants) and 0.6% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Immigrant Legal Defense a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 84-1833586 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2025: Form 990 for calendar year 2025, object 202620729349300522 · read the filing · XML
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202521089349300607 · read the filing
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202420879349300337 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202321049349300112 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202220709349300107 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202110419349300626 · read the filing
- FY2019 (8 mo.): Form 990 for the 8-month short period ending December 31, 2019, object 202033209349302273 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 84-1833586: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.