As federal immigration raids spread fear and economic turmoil across Los Angeles County, tenant groups and immigrant advocates are calling on the Board of Supervisors to declare a state of emergency and enact an immediate eviction moratorium to protect immigrant tenants who have lost income. The proposed declaration, authored by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis, would give the county authority to shield tenants impacted by the raids and expedite hiring for housing assistance roles and emergency measures.
“This escalation puts thousands of our neighbors in extreme peril, so I believe we need to act now,” said Horvath. “Declaring a state of emergency will give us every tool available to fight back.” A state of emergency is a required legal precursor to an eviction moratorium, which supervisors say is the most direct way to prevent mass displacement. County Counsel has suggested that such a moratorium may only be legally defensible if a state of emergency is declared, setting up a political debate over what constitutes an emergency.
County staff are expected to caution that declaring an emergency tied to immigration enforcement could invite legal challenges or retaliation. Republican Board Chair Kathryn Barger, the lone dissenting vote when the measure advanced earlier this month, said she fears both litigation and unintended burdens on landlords. “I’m sure we’re going to be challenged legally,” Barger said. “Landlords are going to be held financially responsible for unpaid rent when it’s no fault of theirs, and they still have to pay bills and provide for their families.”
The county’s COVID-19 eviction moratorium faced multiple lawsuits, including one that plaintiffs attempted to take to the Supreme Court. Staff also warned that a new moratorium could unintentionally expose residents’ immigration status if tenants rely on it to defend against eviction in court. “I do worry about the self-attestation and what vulnerable position we’re going to be putting our immigrant tenants in,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, while emphasizing that she still supports the declaration. “I think that’s important.”
Advocates argue that those risks pale in comparison to the harm already unfolding across immigrant neighborhoods. In recent months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have detained thousands across Southern California. Reports from local groups describe agents pursuing individuals into hospitals and workplaces, creating widespread fear among immigrant workers.
For many, the fear has translated directly into economic and housing instability. Emilio, a 61-year-old street vendor who sells hot dogs on the Westside, has been too afraid to go outside to work since the raids began. Earlier this week, he received a three-day notice to pay rent or face eviction. Volunteers with the Westside Vendor Buyout Project, who have been in community with Emilio and other vendors in the area, scrambled to raise the $2,500 he needed to stay housed. By the next day, the team met the goal, preventing his eviction at the last possible moment. “I can’t thank you enough,” Emilio said after receiving the funds. “This saved me from being homeless because I no longer had anywhere else to go.” Organizers say Emilio’s story is one example of how the ICE raids have pushed families to the brink and how community aid, while lifesaving, is not enough to address the scale of the crisis.
The Rent Brigade reported that immigrant workers have lost more than 60 percent of their income since the raids began. The county’s rent relief package would cover only six months of rent for 120 families in a county of more than five million renters. Advocates say that every day the Board delays action, more families risk losing their homes.
Horvath cited a study from UC Merced estimating that mass deportation of California’s undocumented residents, who make up about 8 percent of the state’s workforce, would tear a $275 billion hole in the economy. “Families are now afraid to go to work, to attend school, or even to buy groceries,” she said. “As this fear spreads, so does economic hardship, and with it the very real risk of eviction and homelessness.”
Historically, Los Angeles County has declared states of emergency during wildfires or floods, but legal counsel has confirmed that such declarations could apply to humanitarian or economic crises like this one. Horvath and Solis have argued that the criteria are already met. “This is an emergency,” Solis said at an earlier meeting. “We must respond with urgency to protect the people who make this county run.”
The Los Angeles Tenants Union, alongside immigrant-rights coalitions, is urging the Board to declare a state of emergency on immigration and the erosion of civil rights and to vote for a moratorium with the strongest possible protections, without requiring tenants to disclose their status. The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the declaration and potential moratorium on October 14. For tenants like Emilio, that vote could mean the difference between a home and the street.