Los Angeles County may declare a state of emergency in response to federal immigration raids.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to have the County Counsel’s Office draft a state of emergency declaration regarding the economic impact of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Those impacts include the “arrests of breadwinners during raids that have left families unable to pay rent, buy food and clothing for their children,” as well as the resultant effects of “causing many to stay home and not report to work due to fear,” the Daily News added.
The 4-1 vote was only opposed by Board Chair Kathryn Barger, who suggested the county could face legal challenges to the emergency declaration.
Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn, however, said in a news release that the declaration was necessary to protect county residents, with Horvath arguing that the raids are “forcing people to choose between staying safe and staying housed.”
“Declaring a Local Emergency is how we fight back — with care, with coordination, and with every legal tool available to protect our immigrant communities,” she said.
“Unprecedented ICE raids at workplaces—targeting hardworking immigrants, not criminals—are tearing apart communities, leaving families without breadwinners, and sowing fear and chaos in immigrant neighborhoods,” Hahn added. “As we grapple with how to respond to ICE’s cruelty and disregard for the law, I think it is important we have every tool at our disposal, including emergency powers.”
The emergency declaration will be up for approval on Oct. 14.
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