Calls for a countywide eviction moratorium are growing after immigrant tenants in LA report lost wages, falling behind on rent and landlords threatening to call ICE on them.
This article was first published by the nonprofit newsroom LA Public Press on September 10, 2025 and is republished here with permission.
When federal immigration agencies ramped up enforcement operations in Los Angeles in early June, Juana, a 57-year old street vendor in the San Fernando Valley, stopped selling tamales and gorditas from her popup stall in Chatsworth out of fear that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would arrest her or her customers.
“It scared us, and we stopped selling food for two weeks,” said Juana, whose identity LA Public Press has agreed to protect due to her immigration status. “A lot of my usual clients aren’t coming to buy food or aren’t leaving their homes out of fear. So business isn’t the same.”…