Los Angeles County declares state of emergency to aid those affected by ICE raids

This local state of emergency also facilitates the allocation of state funds towards legal aid and other support services. Financial assistance for rent will be made available through an online portal, expected to launch within two months, according to Supervisor Lindsey Horvath's office.

While this motion represents a potential first step towards an eviction moratorium, such a measure would necessitate a separate action by the supervisors. However, the declaration has prompted concerns among landlords, who fear another financial blow following the prolonged 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.

The declaration was passed by a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger opposing.

In late August, there were more than 5,000 arrests in Los Angeles as part of the crackdown. Several cities in the region canceled their Fourth of July celebrations and summer movie nights as families stayed home due to safety concerns. About a third of the county's 10 million residents are foreign-born.

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

"We have residents afraid to leave their homes, we have constituents contacting my office because their family members never came home and they don't know if they've been taken by ICE or where they've been taken," Hahn said. "We have entire families who are destitute because their fathers or mothers have been taken from their work places and they have no way to pay their rent or put food on their table."

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 also came from 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.

Several people said they were against the emergency declaration if it would lead to an eviction moratorium during the public comment portion of Tuesday's vote.

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 Monday.