LA County Declares Emergency Over Raids After Years of Federal Inaction
The Associated Press reports Los Angeles County officials are set to vote on an emergency declaration to provide aid for residents hurt by federal immigration raids, including rent relief. This comes after what the AP describes as the 'Trump administration’s aggressive immigration strategy' in the region since June. Curiously, the AP omits the decades of bipartisan support for militarized border
enforcement and interior raids, policies that predated Trump and have been upheld or expanded by successive administrations. One might wonder if the 'emergency' is the raids themselves, or the rising local costs to clean up a federally created mess. While LA scrambles with rent relief and legal aid, the federal budget continues to pour billions into entities like ICE and CBP. For instance, the
2023 budget allocated over $8 billion to ICE alone, funds approved by a bipartisan Congress. This isn’t a Trump anomaly; it's a systemic choice—a choice that directly undermines the financial stability of the very communities LA County is now, quite belatedly, trying to save. It appears federal coffers are always open for enforcement, but local governments are left to shoulder the 'emergency' of
displacement and poverty.