The Brief

Federal immigration raids across Southern California have been taking workers away from their families. After the initial shock of separation, those left behind are starting to wonder how they’ll pay next month’s rent.

As President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts collide with L.A.’s deeply entrenched housing crisis, local tenant advocates are bracing for more families to fall behind on rent.

“We will likely see an uptick of folks being evicted due to non-payment of rent, and the inciting event will be that their loved one was detained and taken by" Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Henrissa Bassey, an eviction defense attorney with the legal aid nonprofit Bet Tzedek.

Relatives of detainees say they’re not sure how they’ll cover their July 1 rent payment.

Other immigrant workers who have not been detained are also losing income as entire workplaces shut down to avoid being targeted in future sweeps.

Immigrant workers were already struggling to afford L.A.’s high rents before this month’s raids. By federal housing affordability standards, 67% of undocumented households are considered to be financially burdened by L.A. rents, according to a 2024 report by the USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute.

Bassey said loss of income triggered by the raids could be devastating for families in a region where Latinos have been one of the fastest-growing segments of the unhoused population.

“This could have the result of increasing homelessness for entire families,” Bassey said.

When breadwinners are locked up

In the desert city of Adelanto, two hours northeast of L.A. by car, people seized in recent sweeps are being held in an ICE detention center run by the private prison company GEO Group.

U.S. Congress members who recently inspected the facility said the Adelanto ICE Processing Center is holding about 1,200 detainees. Some families have been able to visit their relatives, who have been moved far from their homes.

Some people who have been detained by ICE are being held in Adelanto, in the California desert, at a facility run by the private prison company GEO Group.

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“Their conditions inside there were awful,” said Leslie Quechol, who came to visit her cousin this week. Her cousin was one of dozens arrested in a raid on Ambiance Apparel, a company in downtown L.A.’s Fashion District.

Quechol said her cousin is “the head of his household.” After being detained, he “left three kids and his wife” behind in their Boyle Heights home, Quechol said.

With their sole breadwinner behind bars, the family is worried about paying next month’s rent. Quechol said her cousin’s wife is staying home to care for their children, aged 1 to 9. Quechol doubts their landlord will have much patience if the rent is late.

“That's not how it works," she said. "She's going to have to see where she's going to have to go with her three children.”

Should L.A. pause evictions? 

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has described the raids as a “body blow” to the L.A. economy. Some tenant advocates think the city should respond with a moratorium on evictions.

Tony Carfello, an organizer with the L.A. Tenants Union, said a pause on evictions is necessary because immigrant workers are facing “two crisis situations at once.” L.A. rent puts them at risk of eviction, while ICE raids put them at risk of deportation if they keep working for rent money.

The way Carfello sees it, many immigrant renters are in a double bind: “Am I going to be picked up and deported without due process,” he said, “or am I going to be sent out on the streets?”

In an email, Dan Yukelson with the Apartment Association of Greater L.A. said his organization is “unaware of any issues concerning payment of rent” because of recent detentions.

Local landlords have consistently opposed calls to reinstate pandemic-era eviction protections for late rent payments.

“Renters who might invariably claim that ICE has somehow impeded their ability to sustain employment and pay rent on time will merely use any excuse to not pay rent,” Yukelson said.

LAist asked Bass and L.A. City Council Housing Committee Chair Nithya Raman if they would support an eviction moratorium. Neither responded.

Similar proposals related to the economic fallout from January’s wildfires have failed to win the support of the L.A. City Council.

Workplaces closing as a precaution

Paying rent on time will be challenging not just for families with someone in detention. Entire workplaces have shut down, causing immigrant workers to lose income even if they haven’t been detained.

Preemptive workplace closures have been happening in L.A.’s apparel industry, a low-wage sector that heavily relies on undocumented workers. In a 2020 survey conducted by the Garment Worker Center, 93% of L.A. workers said they worry about paying rent.

Juan, a garment worker in L.A., said his boss told him and dozens of other workers to stay home after the Ambiance Apparel raid. The decision to close the factory was made to avoid being targeted in another federal sweep. But it means workers are not getting paid.

Like others in this story, Juan asked us not to use his full name because of the risk of being targeted by immigration authorities.

Speaking in Spanish, Juan said: “I think about this every day. Day after day, I think maybe I won’t be able to make rent.”

Juan said his wife and daughter have been cooking and selling food out of their apartment. But it’s not bringing in enough money to cover the rent, which claims about two-thirds of his monthly income.

“As the father of the family, I’ll have to see where I can get the money to pay my rent,” Juan said. “I’ll have to figure it out.”

Arturo has spent less time looking for work as a day laborer at this Home Depot since federal agents stormed the parking lot and arrested workers on June 6.

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Raids send some workers into hiding

Day laborers are among the workers who have been arrested in recent raids. Arturo normally goes to the parking lot of a Home Depot in L.A.’s Westlake neighborhood to look for work.

“Many people are no longer coming, because they’re afraid,” he said, speaking in Spanish.

Arturo was there when masked agents stormed the parking lot and started grabbing and handcuffing people on June 6. Arturo said he managed to run to safety inside the Home Depot. But since the raid, his income has dropped significantly.

Arturo said he’s been getting some work from past clients. But he’s not hanging around the Home Depot for now. He fears he could be late on next month’s rent.

Immigrants without legal authorization to be in the country are not eligible for unemployment benefits. Arturo said he has learned more about his rights from the L.A. Tenants Union, but other forms of assistance are hard to find.

“Sometimes, there's no support — moral, psychological or legal support from people who can help or tell you what you can do to avoid being evicted,” Arturo said.

Arturo recalled one time when he paid his rent late. He said his landlord told him there are plenty of people who’d like the chance to take his spot.

On Friday, Southern California Edison filed lawsuits against Los Angeles County and several other agencies over their alleged roles in the Eaton Fire.

Two lawsuits were filed.

In one suit, the utility company alleges Southern California Gas delayed shutting off gas in the burn area for several days after the fire, making the blaze worse.

“SoCalGas’ design and actions caused gas leaks, gas fires, reignition of fires, gas explosions and secondary ignitions during the critical early stages of the Eaton Fire,” according to the suit.

The claim goes on to say this contributed to the spread of the fire and made firefighting and evacuation efforts more difficult.

In the second suit, the utility company alleges the Eaton Fire was made worse by the local government response, “including due to the failures of LASD, LACoFD, OEM and GENASYS in issuing timely evacuation alerts and notifications,” the claim reads.

The same filing says L.A. County was to blame for vegetation and overgrown brush in the Eaton Canyon area that fueled the blaze.

It also named the city of Pasadena and its utility system, Pasadena Water and Power, the city of Sierra Madre, Kinneloa Irrigation District, Rubio Cañon Land & Water Association, Las Flores Water Company and Lincoln Avenue Water Company as parties responsible for water systems running dry in Altadena as the fire broke out.

Edison says hydrants running dry compounded the extent of the disaster.

Those claims will be heard in the L.A. County Superior Court, which is also handling L.A. County’s lawsuit against SoCal Edison.

Edison itself is the subject of hundreds of lawsuits from survivors of the Eaton Fire, which could cost the company billions of dollars in settlements.

Edison has said its equipment likely sparked the Eaton Fire and filed these suits, in part, because it believes these various entities should share some of the blame for the disaster, which resulted in the destruction of thousands of buildings and the deaths of 19 people.

A compensation program Edison established for fire survivors who forgo suing the company has made settlement offers to more than 80 of those who applied.

A new organization is taking over production of the MLK Day Parade, almost 40 years after the first parade was held in South L.A. to commemorate the civil rights leader.

Bakewell Media, publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper (a partner of The LA Local), was granted the permit in September to organize the parade for the first time by the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. Formerly called the Kingdom Day Parade, the parade has been rebranded as the Los Angeles Official Martin Luther King Day Parade. The parade was previously produced and organized by Adrian Dove and the L.A. chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality California (CORE-CA).

With less than a week before the parade kicks off, LA Local reporter LaMonica Peters sat down with Danny Bakewell Jr., president and executive editor of the LA Sentinel, to discuss the details and what attendees should expect.

This Jan. 12 interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Why did you decide to produce the MLK Day Parade this year?

Bakewell: It all started because Adrian Dove, who was the previous promoter, had announced that he was retiring. When he announced he was retiring, LAPD, city council offices and other people said, “Hey, we still want to do the MLK Day parade. Would you guys be interested? You have the infrastructure to put it together.” And we said yes.

What’s different about this year’s production?

We’re going to start the parade with a singer performing “Lift Every Voice.” We’re going to play the message from Bernice King at the start of the show. Obviously, we have Cedric the Entertainer as our grand marshal to add the entertainment value, but the community has always been and will continue to be a major part of this parade.

Is ABC 7 covering the parade this year? 

It’s still going to be televised by ABC. We’re working diligently on how the show is going to be, but ABC has been a great partner.

What was the preparation for this parade?

Thanks to our corporate sponsors, we have a number of bands. The truth is, particularly in LAUSD at this time, and other school districts, they don’t have the funding to just get a bus and get here. I can’t say enough about Airbnb to Bank of America, all of our corporate sponsors, who are supporting all of the youth organizations.

Were there any unexpected challenges while preparing for this parade? 

This [The LA Sentinel office on Crenshaw Blvd.] is usually our command center during The Taste of Soul. It dawned on me last week that we’re going to be a mile away [from the parade route]. So, we made the decision to bring in a trailer to be our office at the corner of King and Crenshaw boulevards.

Any special guests this year besides the grand marshal?

I’m working on a surprise guest to be the singer for the national anthem. No matter what, we will give tribute to the Black national anthem “Lift Every Voice” as loud as we can next Monday.

What’s the long-term vision for this parade, if Bakewell Media continues to produce it?

We see the MLK Day Parade, and we want the world to see and expect to see this parade, the same way they see the Macy’s Parade, the Hollywood Parade or the Rose Parade. BET has come in this year as a partner. So there’s an opportunity to possibly do a national broadcast on BET. Not that we would lose our local television, but we see this as a major parade in this community and in the national African American community, celebrating the great work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. So, we are very excited.

Bits of conversation drift out of Aladdin Used Books as people lined up at the register with stacks of books.

The bustle of activity is bittersweet as the Koreatown bookstore will close its doors at the end of January after 13 years in the neighborhood.

Jina Lee, store manager, said declining sales at the Koreatown branch led to the decision to close the store. In recent years, staffing at the 5,000-square-foot store on the third floor of Madang Mall dropped from six to two, Lee said.

“This was a happy place for everyone,” she said, “but we were struggling.”

On a recent January afternoon, the shop looked lively as customers took advantage of the clearance sale on Korean and English books, CDs, DVDs and other media.

Koreatown resident Jin Lee wishes he visited the bookstore more often.

“It would have been great if it had been this crowded all the time,” Lee said. “But nowadays, people don’t read paper books and prefer devices, so it’s hard for all bookstores.”

Some customers traveled from as far as Orange County and the Inland Empire to visit one last time.

Minjung Kim, who moved from Koreatown to Fullerton five years ago, still made trips to the bookstore after she moved away.

“It’s the only place that sells this many new and used Korean books,” she said.

Each visit to the bookstore was important to David Artiga of Pomona, because it gave him a chance to connect with friends over literature.

“I feel like this is really negative for the community,” he said. “The importance of having a well-versed society, keeping in touch with literature and art is so important. And now this place is just going to be gone.”

South Korea-based Aladdin Used Books opened its first U.S. brick-and-mortar store in Los Angeles in 2013. The store carries around 50,000 new and used books, with a majority in Korean.

Customers will still be able to order books through Aladdin’s website after the store closes.

Ken Derick, a Koreatown resident, walked around the store aisles with a stack of books.

“It’s like we’re kind of moving towards a new technology, like everything’s virtual and online,” he said.

Longtime customer Anthony Kim said he’s enjoyed looking for gems in the English-language shelves.

“My Korean ability is rather limited but I’ve always enjoyed browsing their English language sections,” he said. “And now that I have a niece and nephew, their children’s book section has always been a great place to pick up new books for them.”

Valerie Laguna perused the shop’s CD section, a bygone experience in the era of streaming.

“I really like their CD collection and their literature collection they have in English,” she said.

“I was so sad about it, I immediately texted my friend,” she said. “I’ve gotten so many of my favorite books and my favorite CDs from this place. I feel like losing a place like this is just so sad and makes a huge dent in the community and culture.”

Less than a mile away on Western Avenue, Happy Bookstore owner Jung Jae-seung said it has been difficult for bookstores for some time now. His Korean-language bookstore is also struggling in an era when so many people have abandoned print media.

“It’s really about how long printed books can survive,” Jung said. “From that point of view, it’s hard to be optimistic.”

South L.A. or South Central? More than 20 years ago, that question came with high emotions for some residents who were sick of the stereotypes they saw in media coverage of their neighborhoods.

So in 2003, the Los Angeles City Council renamed the collection of communities south of the 10 freeway in an attempt to cut ties with the connotations of poverty and crime that some believe came to represent South Central after the turbulence of the 1980s and ‘90s. Today, you see South L.A. on official documents, maps and even historical and cultural districts.

Even though city officials moved to wipe away the old name, some locals never stopped calling the area South Central — a name that for them represents history, resilience and Black and Latino culture.

“I think it will always be South Central for its residents and for the people that were born and raised here,” said Evelyn Alfaro-Macias, a social worker who was raised in Historic South Central and whose office is on Hoover Street. “It means home. It means culture. People should respect the name South Central.”

What and where is South LA, anyway?

By the early 2000s, television news and pop culture had given South Central a reputation for violence and chaos that some were eager to shake.

Helen Johnson, a resident of Vermont Square, helped lead the campaign to change the name.

“I think the media can make you or either break you,” 72-year-old Johnson told reporters in 2003 after the city council approved the name change, according to the L.A. Times. “This is what you’ve done to us. You’ve broke us.”

Supporters of the change included then-Councilmember Janice Hahn, who is now a county supervisor and said at the time that the South Central name had become “mostly derogatory.”

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who was working then as executive director of the nonprofit Community Coalition, said the area’s image problem wasn’t just about its name.

“If the media paid a little more attention to covering positive things in the community, that will also help,” Bass said, according to an L.A. Times report.

The LA Local has reached out Bass and Hahn’s offices, as well as L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.

The exact borders of South Los Angeles, or the area formerly known as South Central, are fuzzy.

The South Central name originally only applied to the neighborhood around Central Avenue south of downtown Los Angeles, but it spread west as populations grew.

City planning documents today designate a strip of neighborhoods between Interstate 110 and Arlington Avenue as South Los Angeles and tag the Central Avenue neighborhood as Historic South Central. Others, including academics and the city tourism board, use a map of South Los Angeles that stretches to the border of Culver City.

This is what the community told us

Some businesses in the area adopted the South L.A. name, notably South LA Cafe, the coffee shop that has grown to five locations and become a local institution.

More recently, some groups have made a concerted effort to embrace South Central, like the South Central Run Club or South Central Clips, an Instagram-based group that sells skatewear-inspired “South Central” apparel. (Even South LA Cafe today sells some merch with the South Central name.)

Several locals told The LA Local the official designation never changed anything for them.

“It’s South Central for me. That’s where my roots are,” April Brown said. “When you go anywhere across the country, across the world and you say South Central, they know exactly what you’re talking about.”

To Emily Amador, the name change erases the history of South Central, including “the Black migration that occurred, redlining that created what we know today to be South Central and the demographics, which are here today, which is Black and brown and undocumented.”

Ulysses Alfaro, who was born and raised in the Historic South Central neighborhood, said he uses South L.A. with people from out of town but South Central with locals.

South L.A. is a geographic designator, he said, but he considers South Central to be an identity: “That’s where the grinders are, the hard-working people that work their butts off, their asses off. The ones that keep the city running.”