LA to declare state of emergency over Ice raids to assist affected families | Los Angeles
Los Angeles County officials voted Tuesday to declare a state of emergency, giving them the authority to provide aid to residents they say have been financially harmed by ongoing federal immigration raids.
The move allows the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to provide rental assistance to tenants left behind as a result of the immigration crackdown. A local state of emergency could also divert state money for legal aid and other services.
Controller Lindsey Horvath’s office said rent funding will be available to people who apply through an online portal that will open within two months. The motion could also be a first step toward an eviction moratorium, but that would require separate action from supervisors.
Landlords were worried it could be another financial hit following an extended ban on evictions and rent increases during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since June, the Los Angeles area has been a battleground for more than a month in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration strategy, which has spurred protests and led to the deployment of the national guard and marines. Federal agents rounded up immigrants from Home Depots, car washes, bus stops and farms, regardless of their legal status. Some US citizens were also detained.
The declaration passed on a 4-1 vote, with supervisor Kathryn Barger dissenting.
More than 5,000 people were arrested as part of a crackdown in Los Angeles in late August. Many cities in the region have canceled Fourth of July celebrations and summer movie nights as families stay home due to safety concerns. Approximately one-third of the county’s 10 million residents are foreign-born.
Horvath and fellow board member Janice Hahn said the raids spread fear and destabilized households and businesses.
“We have residents who are afraid to leave their homes, we have constituents who contact my office because their family members never came home and they don’t know if they were taken by Ice or where they were taken,” Hahn said. “We have families who are poor because their father or mother has been removed from their workplace and they cannot pay their rent or put food on their table.”
Last week, the five-member board voted 4-1 to put the declaration to a vote at its regular meeting on Tuesday. The only “no” vote came from Barger, who argued that the immigration raids did not meet the emergency criteria and that this could be unfair to homeowners.
“I’m sure we’ll be challenged legally,” Barger said. The county’s eviction moratorium during the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous lawsuits.
Many people said during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s vote that they opposed declaring an emergency if it would lead to an eviction moratorium.
Greater Los Angeles Apartment Association CEO Daniel Yukelson said landlords are “still reeling” from the Covid-era freezes that cost “billions of dollars in uncollected rent and prohibited annual rent increases.”
He said housing providers sympathize with tenants and their family members affected by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. But he said the association was unaware of anyone unable to pay rent due to immigration enforcement.
“If local governments once again allow rent payments to be deferred due to ice application activities, this will lead to further deterioration and loss of affordable housing in our community,” Yukelson said in a statement Monday. he said.
