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COUNTY WATCH - Los Angeles Tenants Union Urges Immediate Action to Protect Vulnerable Residents
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to resume its vote on a critical rental assistance motion and consider exploring a county-wide eviction moratorium this Tuesday, September 16th. The proposed motion, co-presented by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis, responds to urgent demands raised by over 30 members of the Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU) during the Board’s September 10th cluster meeting. LATU members shared powerful testimonies of lost work and the constant fear of deportation, noting that more than 5,000 Angelenos have reportedly been kidnapped since June 6th and reading the names of those who have died due to ICE raids. Their message was clear: rental assistance must be coupled with comprehensive eviction protections.
This new proposal follows a summer of relentless organizing by LATU, targeting both the Board of Supervisors and the L.A. City Council. The union and allied community groups have called on local leaders to take decisive action in response to the humanitarian and economic crises exacerbated by ICE activity. They have specifically demanded immediate relief for the working class, including rental assistance and a moratorium on evictions affecting tenants and small businesses.
ICE raids have made worksites hazardous, forcing workers to choose between earning income and risking detention, or falling into debt and facing eviction. Since June, LATU and other organizations have pressed L.A.’s leadership to act, emphasizing the Board of Supervisors’ authority to protect millions of residents from displacement, detention, or worse—an authority expanded under emergency powers following January’s Eaton and Palisades fires, which grant the Board jurisdiction over 88 cities, including Los Angeles.
At the September 10th meeting, one LATU member passionately stated, “I can’t sell things on the street when ICE is there. I can’t pay my rent. It’s [the county’s] responsibility to protect the people with an eviction moratorium. This is on your conscience.”
For either the rental assistance or eviction moratorium motions to pass, three out of five Supervisors must vote in favor. However, Supervisors Janice Hahn, Holly Mitchell, and Kathryn Barger have been resistant, recently voting to delay the rental assistance motion. With thousands of residents displaced this summer and ICE reportedly pursuing individuals like Jaime Alanis and Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez to their deaths, advocates argue that policymakers have both the moral obligation and the power to enact life-saving policy swiftly.
If the Board chooses to explore an eviction moratorium, LATU suggests they consider the draft ordinance the union presented in July. While organizing defense centers, vendor buyouts, food distributions, and family support in the wake of kidnappings, LATU has also worked to keep residents housed. Their proposed eviction moratorium would block evictions for nonpayment of rent, unauthorized occupants, and “no-fault” reasons during a designated protection period. Any rental debt accrued would be converted into non-evictable consumer debt, mirroring protections enacted during the COVID-19 emergency.
Since June, local leaders have struggled to respond effectively to federal actions, often constrained by both governmental structure and their own reluctance to confront federal authorities. Community members have stepped up where government responses have lagged, defending neighborhoods at the grassroots level. The Board of Supervisors now faces a pivotal decision—whether to help keep the community housed so they can continue leading the fight against ICE.
The Los Angeles Tenants Union, founded in 2015, is the largest autonomous tenant organization in the country. Comprising diverse residents from across L.A., LATU fights against displacement, eviction, and social cleansing, advocating for housing as a fundamental human right. The union boasts more than a dozen chapters in the city and has helped create a network of tenant unions throughout North America.
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