ICE raids lead to another crisis for immigrant workers and families: How to pay rent

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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David Wagner

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LAist

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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.