Los Angeles County voted on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency over federal immigration raids, the latest move by the county to push back against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Southern California.
The emergency declaration, traditionally used in response to events like natural disasters, would allow the county to provide resources for those who have been affected by the raids.
County officials say the move will provide help for those who have refrained from going to work for fear of being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or who lose their income after family members are detained.
The declaration, which was passed in a 4-to-1 vote by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, also gives officials the ability to vote later to impose an eviction moratorium and other protections for tenants who might have fallen behind on rent payments because of the raids.
In justifying the declaration, county officials argued that federal immigration sweeps, in which thousands of people have been detained by heavily armed and masked immigration officials, have produced a climate of fear.
“We have residents afraid to leave their homes,” said Janice Hahn, a board member who voted in favor of the declaration. “We have entire families who are destitute because their fathers or mothers were taken from their workplaces and they have no way to pay their rent or put food on the table.”
Last month, county officials approved around $30 million in rental relief assistance for residents who were affected by wildfires or federal immigration raids. The county plans to begin accepting applications for that relief in December. The board did not provide an estimate for how many residents have been affected by immigration raids or how many might apply for relief.
County lawyers have warned that the emergency declaration could create issues for landlords and tenants, as well as invite litigation from the Trump administration. They said the declaration could lead to significant income loss for landlords and expose tenants to lawsuits from landlords seeking to recover debts. It could also prompt tenants to publicly disclose their immigration status, the lawyers said, inviting enforcement action from the federal government.
Kathryn Barger, the member of the board of supervisors who voted against the declaration, argued that the raids did not meet the criteria for an emergency.
“Emergency powers exist for crises that pose life and death consequences like wildfires — not as a shortcut for complex policy issues,” she wrote in a statement provided to the news media after the vote. “Stretching emergency powers for federal immigration actions undermines their purpose, invites legal challenges, and circumvents the public process.”
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, criticized the emergency declaration and defended the immigration raids in a statement, saying the agency had made more than 5,000 arrests in Los Angeles since its operation there began in June.
“This isn’t the first time sanctuary politicians in Los Angeles have put law breakers ahead of Americans,” she wrote in the statement. “Our law enforcement should be thanked by the board of supervisors — not demonized.”
Los Angeles County — home to 10 million people and the country’s largest population of undocumented immigrants — became the primary battleground this summer in the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on immigration. A spike in immigration arrests led to protests, and the federal government responded by deploying National Guard troops and Marines to the region.
Local and state officials have sought to push back, banning federal officials from wearing masks in the state, filing lawsuits over the deployment of troops and challenging the tactics used by ICE.
In July, a judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from making indiscriminate immigration arrests in the county, and a sense of normalcy returned to Los Angeles. But last month, the Supreme Court overturned the order, reinstating fear among immigrants there.
Orlando Mayorquín contributed reporting.
Jonathan Wolfe is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news.
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