The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a local state of emergency declaration on Tuesday amid the federal immigration operations.
In the declaration, county staff stated that a recent survey found a 62% drop in average weekly earnings for immigrants. Additionally, the survey found that 71% returned to work despite fears of deportation.
“We have entire families who are destitute because their fathers or mothers were taken from their workplaces,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, who urged the board to issue the proclamation. “I want our immigrant communities to know that we are in this emergency with them, we see them and we understand what they are going through.”
The board approved the declaration by a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger the sole opponent. In a statement, Barger wrote that her rejection of the motion was based on “good governance, not immigration status.”
“Families across Los Angeles County are afraid, and that fear is real,” Barger wrote. “I’ve spoken with members of our Latino community who live with the daily anxiety that immigration actions could separate families and destabilize neighborhoods. That fear deserves to be acknowledged with honesty and compassion. Declaring a local emergency is not the right or responsible way to respond to that.”
She added that potential legal challenges could strain the county’s budget, which has already been stretched thin by a $4 billion settlement for child sexual assault victims.
“We need real solutions, not symbolic gestures,” Barger wrote. “I’ll continue to support targeted, community-centered programs like legal aid and rental assistance that provide meaningful help to vulnerable families while respecting legal limits, protecting County resources, and preserving public trust.”
The emergency declaration will allow supervisors to enact an eviction moratorium and other protections for residents affected by the immigration operations. However, county attorneys warned the board that any eviction moratorium must be “temporary and narrowly tailored” to address the emergency, while also protecting landlords’ rights by requiring tenants to pay back rent.
Organizations such as the LA Tenants Union have pushed the board to enact a moratorium due to immigration operations. Last month, the supervisors unanimously approved rent relief for those impacted by the January wildfires and for residents affected by recent federal immigrant enforcement operations.