A new report released this week by The Rent Brigade and the Los Angeles Tenants Union paints a stark picture of the economic fallout from a summer of immigration raids across Los Angeles County. The data suggest that widespread displacement is already underway, with low-income immigrant tenants facing rent debt, threats of eviction, and a dramatic drop in earnings.
The report, titled Disappeared and Displaced, surveyed 120 immigrant renters and compiled data from over 200 documented raids between June and August 2025. It found that average weekly earnings for immigrant renters dropped from $799.25 before the raids to just $304.57 afterward. That represents a 62 percent decline in income in less than two months.
According to the survey, 95 percent of respondents are now rent-burdened, with many spending over 90 percent of their income on rent. Twenty-eight percent owe more than one month’s rent, and 12 percent reported that their landlord had threatened to report them to ICE. Seventy-one percent said they had returned to work despite the threat of arrest, fearing eviction if they stayed home.
“This is not just a labor crackdown. It is an eviction crisis,” said Chelsea Kirk, one of the report’s co-authors. “The numbers show that entire sectors of LA’s low-wage economy are being gutted. Families are falling off a cliff financially.”
The raids have primarily targeted workplaces, with Home Depot locations emerging as frequent sites of arrests. Of the 614 arrests documented in LA County, half occurred at home improvement retailers, primarily Home Depot stores. The Van Nuys, Cypress Park, and Hollywood locations were raided multiple times, with ICE agents reportedly arriving in unmarked vehicles and disguised as workers.
Neighborhoods with large immigrant populations have seen the highest concentration of enforcement activity. Van Nuys, Glassell Park, Westlake, and parts of Downtown Los Angeles all recorded more than 35 arrests each. The timing of the arrests also suggests a deliberate strategy to target workers during the day, with the majority of apprehensions taking place on weekday mornings between 6 a.m. and noon.
Most of those arrested were men between the ages of 30 and 50, typically the primary earners in their households. Survey data show that the majority of immigrant renters support families of four or more, and that 78 percent of respondents make less than $25,000 a year.
Street vendors, car wash workers, and day laborers have been particularly affected. One fruit vendor in Chinatown described working 18-hour days with constant fear of arrest, while another in Downtown Los Angeles said she was forced to stay home for a week without food before returning to work for just a few hours each day. “I go only a couple of hours with fear in my whole body,” she said.
Tenant groups are calling for an immediate eviction moratorium and rent freeze for immigrant households impacted by the raids. They argue that the city cannot ignore the housing consequences of this federal campaign, especially amid an ongoing homelessness emergency and rising rent prices.
“There is a moral and practical obligation to act,” the report concludes. “The City of Los Angeles must halt evictions until this crisis is behind us. Without swift intervention, thousands of immigrant tenants will be pushed out of their homes, fueling a new wave of homelessness.”
The release of the report follows the August 14 death of Roberto Carlos Montoyo Valdez, a day laborer who was struck and killed while fleeing ICE agents on the 210 freeway. His death, along with that of another worker in Ventura County, has intensified calls for local officials to protect residents from what tenant groups are calling an unlawful and lethal enforcement campaign.
Unless action is taken, the report warns, the consequences will be long-lasting. Immigrant communities that help sustain Los Angeles through their labor are being destabilized. The economic ripple effects are already visible, and a housing collapse may be just weeks away.