LA County considers emergency declaration to combat ICE raids

As the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration in Southern California, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is considering declaring a state of emergency to give the board more power to help people affected by the deluge of detentions and deportations.

“This escalation (raids) puts thousands of our neighbors in extreme danger, so I think we need to act now,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said, saying the declaration is necessary “to give us every tool available to fight back.”

The state of emergency is a prerequisite for enacting a moratorium on evictions for households that have lost income because of the raids, an action the supervisors want to continue. The declaration would also allow the county to expedite hiring for tenant assistance positions.

The board voted 4-1 for staff to draft a state of emergency declaration to vote on at its Oct. 14 meeting.

Board President Kathryn Barger was the lone “no” vote, noting that she fully supports efforts to keep immigrant families in housing but is concerned about the legal implications of the declaration as well as the burden a moratorium would place on landlords.

“I’m sure we’re going to be challenged legally,” she said, adding that “landlords will be held financially responsible (for unpaid rent) when it’s not their fault, and they’ll still have to pay their bills and provide for their families.”

County staff said eviction moratoriums usually result in some form of litigation. The county’s recent COVID-19-related eviction moratorium has been the subject of several lawsuits, including one that plaintiffs attempted to take to the Supreme Court.

Under eviction moratoriums, tenants who can prove they are affected by the ongoing state of emergency cannot be evicted for unpaid rent, but they still owe back rent once the moratorium expires.

Besides the possibility of lawsuits or backlash from the Trump administration, staff pointed out that the eviction moratorium could have an unintended consequence of revealing residents’ immigration status to their landlord if they use it to challenge an eviction order in court.

“I’m concerned about self-attestation and the vulnerable position that we’re going to put our immigrant tenants in when it comes to verifying that they need help,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said. However, she said she was in favor of the first measure of declaring a state of emergency. “I think it’s important.”

Historically, states of emergency have been declared during natural disasters; however, staff said the criteria for such action could be applied to difficulties generated by immigration raids.

Staff also highlighted additional avenues to protect tenants impacted by federal immigration enforcement actions, such as increasing rent relief assistance and increasing investments in free legal services for tenants.

Horvath, the motion’s author, supported those suggestions but argued that the dire situation requires bold measures to protect residents from economic harm caused by immigration raids.

She pointed to a June study from UC Merced that calculated that the mass expulsion of California’s undocumented residents — who make up about 8 percent of California’s workforce — would create a $275 billion hole in the state’s economy.

“Since June, ICE raids have arrested thousands of people, sowing fear and destabilizing entire communities in Los Angeles County. Families are now afraid to go to work, go to school or even go shopping,” she said. “As this fear spreads, so too will economic hardship, and with it the very real risk of eviction and homelessness. »