BUENA PARK: When her husband was arrested in an immigration raid near Los Angeles last month, Martha was abruptly separated from the father of her two daughters. But she also lost the salary that allowed her to keep a roof over their heads. “He’s the pillar of the family… he was the only one working,“ said the undocumented woman, using a pseudonym for fear of reprisals.
Los Angeles, where one-third of residents are immigrants, has been destabilized by intensifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids under the Trump administration. Since returning to power, US President Donald Trump has delivered on promises to launch a wide-ranging deportation drive, targeting undocumented migrants but also ensnaring many others in its net.
After her husband’s arrest, 39-year-old Martha has joined the ranks of people barely managing to avoid ending up on the streets of Los Angeles County, a region with prohibitively high housing prices and the largest number of homeless people in the United States outside New York. Her 700-square-foot apartment in Buena Park costs $2,050 per month.
“I have to pay car insurance, phone, rent, and their expenses,“ she said, pointing to her six- and seven-year-old daughters, who need school supplies for the new academic year. “That’s a lot of expenses.”
Los Angeles has seen some of the worst of the ICE raids. Squads of masked agents have targeted hardware stores, car washes, and bus stops, arresting more than 2,200 people in June. About 60 percent of these had no prior criminal records, according to internal ICE documents.
Andrea Gonzalez, deputy director of the CLEAN Carwash Workers Center, warns of a growing crisis. “A bigger storm is brewing. It’s not just about the people that got picked up, it’s about the people that are left behind as well,“ she said.
Local Democratic Party leaders are trying to establish financial aid for affected families. Los Angeles County is planning a dedicated fund, and city officials will launch another using philanthropic donations. Some families should receive “a couple hundred” dollars, Mayor Karen Bass said.
But Gonzalez argues these initiatives do not “even scratch the surface” of what is needed. She called for a “moratorium on evictions” similar to one introduced during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Maria Martinez’s undocumented immigrant husband was arrested in June at a carwash in Pomona. Since then, the 59-year-old has had to rely on help from her children to pay her $1,800 monthly rent. “It is stressful,“ she said. “We’re just getting by.” – AFP
