Los Angeles and California never cease to amaze. I can say that with absolute certainty.
Just when you think things are simmering down, those folks out there come up some off-the-wall freakin' crap that just so mind glowingly unreal, you have to check twice to make sure you read it right.
And then it's still unbelievable.
That daffy, worthless, Communista LA mayor is still doing her posing and not much else regarding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity that hasn't paused while LA's coddled illegals go through the motions, acting out during their tantrums in the streets.
STOP THIS LAW STUFF RIGHT NOW
“Mayors across the L.A. region and the country have spoken out unequivocally against these reckless raids and the Trump administration’s chaotic escalation here in Los Angeles,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “When you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you deploy troops to our streets, you’re not trying to keep anyone safe – you’re trying to cause fear and panic. These raids must stop.”
Okay, whatever.
It seems the problem in Los Angeles is that they've left these people to do their own thing for so long, unimpeded, and lately, completely protected and indulged with state benefits and freebies, that they must not have realized the percentage of the population that actually was never citizens.
That's the Pollyanna version.
The cynical take is that these businesses were all hiring illegals under the table the entire time because it was cheap and they knew the state would never do a thing to stop them.
I choose Door Number Two.
Well, welcome to a world where your fellow Americans expect everyone in the country - not just certain red states - to follow what's known as 'federal immigration law.' And now that it's come to California all these slack butt employers who've been making out all these years are finding out they have a labor shortage - everyone is scared to come to work in case the place gets raided.
You're only scared if you're illegal, right?
Anyway, all these businesses and the unions who make big money off of the illegals who work in union shops and pay those schweet, schweet union dues in places like hotels, etc., are now bent out of shape that these folks are hiding out at home.
If they're at home, there are two problems. They're not at work earning any money, they're not out spending the money they earned, and the employer has no workers earning that money to keep his business running.
This has caused a massive 'waah' to rise up.
WHAT TO DO WHAT TO DO
In classic Los Angeles fashion, the answer that businesses, the always progressively-minded community leaders, and unions came up with is 'Let's get the city to not to make anybody pay rent.'
Several unions are calling on the Los Angeles City Council to vote for a rent moratorium on the basis that deportation operations have severely shut down business activity.
The community groups say that businesses have been crippled by the loss of workers as well as consumers who are fearing detainment from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
On Tuesday, representatives of the Los Angeles Tenants Union held a press conference with the Coalition of Labor Union Employees and the SEIU to demand the rent moratorium.
"We know that many tenants will not be able to pay their rent come July 1," said Kenia Alcocer of LATU, who said she is also an illegal alien.
HOLY SMOKING CHECKBOOK
It's too scary out there right now for lawbreakers to keep breaking the law. They want to stay home and break the law for free.
Community groups say too many families are living in fear amid immigration raids across Southern California, and they are calling on the Los Angeles City Council to take action.
The L.A. Tenants Union, SEIU 721 and the Coalition of Labor Union Employees joined forces for a press conference and rally on Olvera Street Tuesday morning.
They want the City Council to pass emergency protections for people impacted by the raids, including an eviction moratorium. The unions say renters make up more than 60% of L.A. residents and many now face the fear of deportation, and many families may not be able to cover rent if a family member was taken into ICE custody or if they have family members choosing to stay home from work out of fear.
They add that the immigration raids are creating unnecessary fear, and there's a deepening economic crisis fueled by COVID, fires and now ICE raids.
You know - until the bad ICE men go away.
As you might imagine, landlords have a different opinion.
...Landlords, however, worry that another moratorium could crush them.
"Over 85% of rental property owners in the city of Los Angeles are independent moms and pops who, for the most part, are already struggling to pay their bills," said Daniel Yukelson, Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. "I understand that people are very scared and rental property owners are very sympathetic to that. But, as I said, you know, property owners are very dependent on receiving timely rent payments just to make ends meet."
They prefer to have the rent paid, having already suffered through first the COVID-era rent and eviction moratoriums, and then the one imposed after the recent fires. Landlords are pretty much over providing free housing at the county's say-so.
...The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a countywide eviction moratorium in response to the January wildfires, prohibiting evictions for qualifying tenants through July 31, 2025, while discussions on rental assistance funding for unpaid landlords continue.
Despite efforts to refine the measure, an amendment aimed at improving the ordinance failed in a 3-2 vote, with Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Holly Mitchell in support. Supervisors Janice Hahn, Lindsay Horvath and Hilda Solis voted against truly helping those in need and failing to protect property owners. The board has committed to further discussions on rental assistance and funding allocations in follow-up meetings.
Now these people are demanding the county deliver a rent freeze and eviction moratorium because they're scared.
Somehow, it all makes sense for LA.
...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?”
All this angst comes down to a simple fact: the 'due process' part they love to squawk about was forfeited when they crossed the border illegally and then chose to stay.
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