Los Angeles County officials to vote on emergency declaration over immigration raids

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County officials will vote Tuesday on whether to declare a state of emergency that would give them power to provide assistance for residents they say have suffered financially from ongoing federal immigration raids.

The move would allow the LA County Board of Supervisors to provide rent relief for tenants who have fallen behind as a result of the crackdown on immigrants. A local state of emergency can also funnel state money for legal aid and other services.

Funds for rent would be available to people who apply via an online portal that would be launched within two months, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office said. The motion could also be a first step toward an eviction moratorium, but that would require a separate action by the supervisors.

Landlords worried it could be another financial hit after an extended ban on evictions and rental increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since June, the Los Angeles region has been a battleground in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration strategy that spurred protests and the deployment of the National Guards and Marines for more than a month. Federal agents have rounded up immigrants without legal status to be in the U.S. from Home Depots, car washes, bus stops, and farms. Some U.S. citizens have also been detained.

Horvath and Janice Hahn said the raids have spread fear and destabilized households and businesses.

“They are targeting families, disrupting classrooms, silencing workers, and forcing people to choose between staying safe and staying housed,” Horvath said in a statement, referencing actions by the Trump administration. She added declaring an emergency “is how we fight back.”

Last week the five-member board voted 4-1 to put the declaration up for a vote at its regular Tuesday meeting. The sole “no” vote came from Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who argued that the immigration raids did not meet the criteria of an emergency and that it could be unfair to landlords.

“I’m sure we’re going to be challenged legally,” Barger said. The county’s eviction moratorium during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in multiple lawsuits.

Landlords are “still reeling” from the COVID-era freezes that cost them “billions of dollars in uncollected rent and prohibited annual rent increase,” said Daniel Yukelson, CEO of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles.

He said housing providers are sympathetic to tenants and their family members affected by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities. But, he said, the association isn’t aware of anyone unable to pay rent due to immigration enforcement.

“If local jurisdictions once again allow rent payments to be deferred due to ICE enforcement activities, this will lead to the further deterioration and loss of affordable housing in our community,” Yukelson said.

Related: Trump’s use of the National Guard during Los Angeles immigration protests is illegal, a judge says