The county Board of Supervisors directed its staff Tuesday to prepare a proclamation declaring a local state of emergency in response to ongoing federal immigration enforcement raids that critics say are preventing people from going to work and forcing some businesses to close.
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County staff are expected to return to the board next week with the proposed emergency proclamation. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath introduced the motion calling for the drafting of the emergency proclamation in response to a report presented to the board by county attorneys on options for possibly enacting an eviction moratorium or other protections for people impacted by the raids.
The Los Angeles Tenants Union advocacy group has been pushing the board for weeks to enact such a moratorium, saying the raids are creating enough fear to prevent people from going to work, or prompting businesses to temporarily close, leaving their employees unable to work.
The county attorney report presented to the board Tuesday noted that an eviction moratorium could be enacted during a declared local emergency, but it would have to be "temporary and narrowly tailored" to address impacts of the emergency, while also protecting landlords' due process rights and requiring tenants to ultimately repay back rent.
Attorneys said in the report that a local emergency can be declared if there are "conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of a county."
Horvath said during the meeting that the immigration raids have instilled fear in the immigrant community, with masked federal agents traveling in unmarked vehicles and acting "without clear adherence to due process protections." She said those actions of "created a climate of fear, leading to widespread disruption in daily life," with people afraid to go to work, school or church.
She noted that one-third of county residents are immigrants.
Supervisor Hilda Solis also said the raids are having a local impact.
"There is an urgency fiscally," Solis said. "I just feel this (proclamation) is something we should entertain."
If the board does declare a local emergency, it does not automatically mean an eviction moratorium would be enacted. That would require a separate action by the board.
According to Horvath's office, the proclamation would "empower the county to expedite contracting, procurement, and hiring; request additional financial assistance and mutual aid; and take all necessary emergency actions to support and stabilize impacted communities."
Several supervisors said they wanted to see the county explore more financial resources that could be used to support tenants and landlords. County CEO Fesia Davenport said her office would explore possible funding sources and report back to the board next week.
The board last month voted to create a $30 million emergency rent- relief program to assist people impacted both by the recent immigration raids and by January's wildfires.
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