A large boost in a Los Angeles County emergency rental relief program was delayed Tuesday, Sept. 2, for two weeks by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, in a contentious vote that split the board.
The motion to add to the rental relief fund, authored by Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and also supported by First District Supervisor Hilda Solis, was shot down by Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger who’s also board chair, as well as Second District Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn.
The three who did not support the motion voted to send it back to the board’s committees for more discussion and clarification, and then return it to the full board for a potential vote on Sept. 16.
Horvath’s motion would add about $10 million to the existing county’s Emergency Rent Relief Program by continuing to provide rent help to those across the county displaced by the January fires, while adding eligible families financially affected by federal immigration raids.
“Thousands of families have lost their primary breadwinners due to raids; thousands more fear going to work, school, and even the grocery store for fear of being detained. Cuts to our social safety net programs and other federal policy changes are leaving our most vulnerable Angelenos even more in need and at risk of losing their housing,” read the motion.
By adding money to help immigrant families pay rent and stay housed, it would’ve raised the county’s emergency rent relief fund to about $20 million, doubling the amount available mostly for hardship tenants.
Horvath made several pleas to her fellow board members who were against it, saying there’s an urgent need to help immigrant families who have lost breadwinners after arrests during federal immigration raids that have swept through carwashes, Home Depots, construction sites and restaurants in Southern California since early June.
“I don’t want to leave immigrant communities behind who are being kidnapped off our streets. It prioritizes everyone facing an emergency. There’s a sense of urgency — rent is due. Now is the time to fight for them,” she said in her remarks to the board.
The new fund would have gone into effect in about 90 days, the extra time needed to add the immigrant families to the program, said Rafael Carbajal, director of the county Consumer and Business Affairs Department.
Leading the opposition was Barger, who said the motion was confusing. She also said she didn’t want to include immigrant families affected by Immigrant, Customs & Enforcement (ICE) raids, saying she thought that would be coming in a separate motion from Solis.
“It needs to be vetted through the cluster (committee) process for long and short-term impacts,” said Barger. “This is a fair and thoughtful way to approach it.”
The tension between Horvath and Barger continued, when Horvath said Barger did not recognize the needs of the immigrant communities facing lost wages and possibly being evicted and becoming homeless. Barger said she did not ignore that side of the emergency, and said she had empathy for the immigrant community.
“This delay means putting vulnerable families at greater risk for eviction, and even for detention,” Horvath said. “I wanted us to show up as the social safety net we claim to be.”
For those affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires, Horvath’s motion would help those who were laid off because their place of employment was destroyed by one of the fires or their work hours were considerably reduced that resulted in lost wages. Those displaced by the fires still needing help paying rent or mortgages would be eligible for up to $5,000.
Small landlords in unincorporated areas whose units sustained damage would be eligible for $5,000 for repairs made, as long as the units were returned to the rental market.
For those tenants, including both in unincorporated county communities and in cities, who have sustained economic hardships such as a sudden loss of income due to a federal immigration raid, they would also be eligible for up to $5,000 in rental relief.
In a rally before the 11 a.m. meeting on the steps of the Hall of Administration, groups under the umbrella “Immigrants Are L.A.” brought about 200 people to support the Horvath motion.
“We have had over 75 carwashes that have been raided, affecting over 200 community members, carwash workers, who have been affected,” said Flor Melendrez, executive director of CLEAN: Carwash Worker Center in an interview.
“We need action now. There are families who are losing their main provider,” she said.
Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in LA, lives in Northeast Pasadena and said she’s spoken to families who’ve lost their homes in the Eaton fire and now have had family members put in detention facilities by ICE.
“Two horrible disasters visited on those same families,” she said. “And they also have to worry about paying rent, having a safe place to live.”
Solis said despite court rulings saying indiscriminate raids without warrants are illegal, they’ve ramped up recently. “Trump is threatening more raids in L.A. and LA County,” said Solis. “We have a target on our back.”
She also said a CalMatters report found that 6,000 construction jobs were lost in L.A. County. Services industries also were down workers. These fields often employ foreign workers.
Horvath mentioned ICE raids last weekend at a car wash in Studio City and multiple raids at a day labor center in Van Nuys.
Ruben Rodriguez, with the Northeast Valley Crisis Response Group, said arrest of family members caused one mother to break down, saying she was considering suicide. “We need help now,” he told the board.
Other said the county needs a more thought out approach to providing assistance to families who have seen primary breadwinners arrested and taken away to detention centers.
“We know rent relief works,” said Miya Daniels, a policy intern at the Trans Latina Coalition. “During COVID-19, Los Angeles County distributed over $80 million in relief.”
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