LA County Supervisors to consider rental protections for families disrupted by ICE raids

The federal immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles County continue to ripple through families, causing loss of breadwinners, employment, income and resulting in nonpayment of rents leading to evictions and homelessness.

As a way to stop or at least slow down this disastrous domino effect, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors will consider two separate rent protection ordinances on March 3.

One ordinance would give tenants in unincorporated county areas an extra month before formal eviction proceedings can kick in, raising the tenant eviction threshold under the existing Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance from one month of fair market rent to two months.

The motion that sets up that ordinance was actually approved in concept by the Board on Tuesday, Feb. 3, with the only no vote coming from Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger. A separate motion that would set up a second rent protection ordinance with longer protection times and a wider scope will come up for a vote on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

“This is a modest but necessary increase. With this additional month, I hope we can give families some breathing room while not putting the entire burden on landlords who depend on rental income to pay their own bills,” said Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn, author of the motion approved on Feb. 3.

The back rent is not forgiven and must be paid back to the landlord. Some suggested the tenant be allowed a payment plan to pay a little each month toward the back rent, combined with the current rent check.

But dozens of hard-pressed renters and groups that represent low-income, Latino renters spoke up saying adding a month more protection before being evicted was good, but not enough. Also, groups such as the Los Angeles Tenants Union and the Community Power Collective have been asking the Board to make this a three-month buffer and make it apply to all of the county, including its 88 cities.

In response, Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath introduced a motion to extend the time a renter would come subject to eviction to three months of non payments of fair market rent. Also, using the county’s emergency powers, this future ordinance would apply not just to the 120 county unincorporated areas, including fire-ravaged Altadena, but to the county’s 88 cities — about 10 million people in total.

Horvath said those impacted by federal immigration raids, ongoing in L.A. County since June 7, are faced with being arrested and shipped to a detention facility while dropping off their children at school, visiting a place of worship, or going to work.

If breadwinners are detained, the income they bring to their families disappears. Also, others who are allowed to live and work in this country, or those who are U.S. citizens but speak Spanish or are dark-skinned, are afraid to go to work or take out their vendor cart for fear of being taken by federal immigration agents in a widespread deportation operation implemented by President Donald Trump to remove undocumented criminals.

Administration officials have defended the arrests, which they say are sweeping up “dangerous criminals” who are a threat to society.

However, the arrests of long-time immigrants who own vendor push carts, or who work in construction, car washes or restaurants — and have been raising families in Southern California for decades — have spurred a backlash from ordinary citizens, immigrant rights groups, labor groups and some local Republican legislators.

The arrest of several thousand Latino workers in L.A. County has “destabilized entire neighborhoods and reverberates through critical sectors of the economy, leading to long-term harm to workers, families, and businesses,” read Horvath’s motion.

“This Board has the authority to strengthen emergency protections to provide safety and stability for households impacted by these ongoing emergencies,” Horvath concluded. This power comes from the passage of an emergency declaration for the whole county in October by the board, citing long-term economic effects from immigration raids.

The L.A. Tenants Union supports the second proposed ordinance, granting a tenant protection from eviction if the tenant’s total rental debt owed exceeded a monetary threshold amount equal to three months of fair market rent.

Fair market rent is $2,085 for a one-bedroom and $2,601 for a two-bedroom unit, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. So two months’ protection for a two-bedroom unit would equal $5,202; three months would be $7,803.

Just preventing the fear of being thrown into court and the expense associated with that by giving the tenant more time to pay back rent is an important aspect, said Lupita Limón Corrales, organizer with L.A. Tenants Union. “Having a window of time just makes sense, if our goal is to keep people in their homes,” she said on Thursday, Feb. 5.

They could see a bleak financial picture improve and some anxiety over the thought of being forced to live on the street or in their car relieved. “Yes, a three-month threshold would have immediate material consequences for the folks we know. It would buy them time that is needed,” said Limón Corrales.

Also, extending the protection to all 88 cities would make a big difference. The Rent Brigade, a group tracking rents and federal immigration raids, reported that 92% of raids took place in incorporated cities. Cities such as Huntington Park, Maywood, Downey, Pasadena and Los Angeles have reported federal immigration operations.

Limón Corrales said raids, detentions and arrests are continuing across Latino-majority neighborhoods and cities in L.A. County. “They are still happening eight months later but are actually escalating,” she said. Some neighbors are banding together to offer families food and cash, while others risk detention by going to work, she said.

With news headlines focusing on immigration raids in Minnesota, especially after the killing by federal agents of two U.S. citizens there — Renee Good, a mother, and Alex Pretti, a nurse — the spotlight has been off Los Angeles County although protests have continued this month. A small protest of high school students took place Wednesday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles outside the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Horvath’s motion says the raids have caused disruptive economic conditions across L.A. County that require resources beyond the control of the county requiring rental protections to help families, and prevent more Angelenos from becoming homeless.

“We are hopeful on Tuesday it (Horvath’s motion) gets the three votes necessary,” said Limón Corrales.