Supreme Court upholds President Trump’s California raid. Here’s what we know so far:
The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to reinstate a massive immigration suspension in Los Angeles, raising civil rights concerns. Here’s what we know so far:
Los Angeles County officials have voted to declare a state of emergency in response to the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown, a measure typically reserved for natural disasters.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on October 14 to approve the state of emergency. This will allow counties to mobilize resources, expedite contracting and procurement, coordinate interagency responses, and request state and federal assistance to protect communities affected by recent federal immigration raids. The Supervisory Board stated that this declaration remains in effect until terminated by the Board of Directors.
The declaration, issued by County Supervisors Lindsey P. Horvath and Janice Hahn, said the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and tactics used by other federal agents are “creating a climate of fear, causing widespread disruption to daily life, and negatively impacting the local economy.”
The Board of Supervisors said ongoing immigration raids and operations across Los Angeles County, home to more than 3 million immigrants, are reducing the number of people reporting to work and straining essential services such as schools, hospitals and places of worship.
“What is happening in our community is an emergency and Los Angeles County is treating it as such,” Horvath said in a statement on Oct. 14. “The declaration of a local state of emergency brings together the full strength of county government to assist immigrant communities targeted by federal action.”
“For months, families have been under threat and workers have been taken from the field. This declaration is about action and speed, allowing us to act faster, work better together, and use every tool available to protect and stabilize our communities,” the statement continued. “Today, and for as long as it lasts, we stand with our immigrant neighbors.”
Los Angeles County Supervisors Warn of Possible Legal Issues
County Supervisor Kathryn Berger, who opposed the state of emergency declaration, argued the motion was not “the correct or responsible way” to respond to federal immigration measures and warned that potential legal challenges could further strain the county’s “already stretched” budget.
“Emergency powers exist for life-or-death crises like wildfires, not as shortcuts to complex policy issues,” Berger said in a statement on Oct. 15. “Expanding emergency powers to address federal immigration would defeat that purpose, invite legal challenges, and circumvent the public process.”
But other county officials say the measure will provide support and resources to people affected by immigration raids. Citing a study conducted by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute in collaboration with the University of California, Merced, officials argued that the raids would cost the state $275 million in gross domestic product.
The raids earlier this year had a dramatic and immediate impact on workers. Approximately 465,000 California workers fled the working class during the week of June 8, as immigration authorities raided workplaces across Los Angeles, according to a study released in July.
As a result, the number of people working in the private sector in California fell by 3.1%, a decline not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic, although it is unclear whether they left permanently or just for a short period of time, the study notes.
Declaring a state of emergency could bring us one step closer to suspending evictions
The state of emergency could also be the first step toward a moratorium on evictions to provide relief to tenants who have been financially hurt by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Such a suspension would still require a vote by the Supervisory Board.
The vote allows Los Angeles County to impose an eviction moratorium that protects renters from being evicted for nonpayment of rent if they can prove they have been financially affected by an immigration raid. The renter still owes the money to the landlord and must pay it once the grace period ends.
At last week’s county supervisors meeting, a slide presentation pointed out that the eviction moratorium would create hardships for landlords. The presentation also said an alternative could be for the county to increase rent relief subsidies for tenants.
Los Angeles immigration operations spark widespread protests
Los Angeles County has become the epicenter of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. President Trump sent National Guard troops and Marines into the city in June to protect federal buildings and protect ICE agents who carried out the attack, sparking widespread protests and outrage.
Protests in Los Angeles County began in response to several attacks on immigrants, including one outside a hardware store and another at a clothing manufacturer in the city’s Garment District. The raids and ensuing violence came as the Trump administration has stepped up its efforts to detain and deport immigrants at workplaces, traffic stops and routine statutory inspections.
The Trump administration has maintained that the raids were legal and aimed at illegally removing immigrants from the United States. The president has since moved to deploy the National Guard to other Democratic cities, including Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
Contributors: Terry Collins and Christopher Cann, USA TODAY. Reuters
