A new proposal out of California’s statehouse wants to suspend eviction proceedings against individuals who have been impacted by ICE.
Introduced by Sen. María Elena Durazo, who represents an eastern swath of Los Angeles including Mid-Wilshire, Highland Park, Vernon and Eagle Rock, the bill would protect tenants for a year if they can prove they’ve been economically harmed by immigration enforcement that has taken place since June 2025.
Also see: How communities have responded to plans to convert warehouses into immigration detention centers
“When a family member is taken in an immigration raid, the fear and uncertainty are overwhelming,” Durazo said in a statement. “No one should also have to worry about losing their home. SB 1243 gives families basic stability by pausing eviction proceedings so they have a chance to get back on their feet during an already traumatic time.”
The proposal comes nearly a year after an eruption of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity across Los Angeles County in June 2025. Since then, ICE has detained 14,458 immigrants in the Greater Los Angeles area, according to UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project.
Other legislation: This bill would make it harder for ICE to make arrests near California courthouses
To qualify for the protections, a covered tenant would provide a declaration of detention-related hardship, signed under penalty of perjury, to the property owner within 15 business days from when the owner issued the three-day notice to pay or quit. Reasons of harm could include legal fees associated with the detained family member, or the loss of wages due to subdued business activity or fear of encountering ICE.
But landlord advocates, including Apartment Owners Association of California President Jeffrey Faller, say the bill could face legal challenges for denying landlords due process, as was the case for self-certifying COVID-19 hardship during the pandemic-era eviction moratorium.
Also see: California woman returns home after the Trump administration deported her to Mexico
He noted the time frame also bears reconsideration.
“This protection lasts until 180 days after the hardship ends,” Faller said. “Who determines when the hardship ends? With (Donald) Trump in office, the hardship will not end until a president with a different immigration policy takes office. Housing providers can’t wait that long without going broke.”
He suggested the state provide rent funds directly to people who can prove economic hardship.
Oron Maher of Maher Commercial Realty in Los Angeles said the policy could backfire and disincentivize landlords from renting to immigrant communities altogether, which while illegal, could go unchallenged by undocumented immigrants fearful of bringing law enforcement further into their lives.
Also see: With 3% rent hike in effect, Los Angeles tenants call for City Council reform
He noted that could also suppress inventory and exacerbate prices.
“Rents (will) go up for everyone who is not already housed, including the very families this bill is designed to protect,” Maher said. “Good intentions are not good policy.”
But Durazo said this bill would create an opportunity for California to come together as a community and push back against President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, citing a Feb. 9 city report that found 82% of businesses surveyed experienced negative impacts from immigration enforcement, with 44% losing more than half of their revenue.
“Those who are worried about the housing market should be directing those concerns at the administration whose actions have already pushed 82% of L.A. County businesses into negative economic consequences,” Durazo said in a statement. “California is trying to help everyone — tenants and property owners alike — get through this.”
She said the bill, which has been sent to the judiciary committee, doesn’t eliminate landlords’ rights or erase rent obligations but creates a temporary pause and a process for all parties to be heard.
According to 2023 findings from California Immigrant Data Portal of USC, undocumented immigrants experienced the most rent burden of all immigration statuses at 62%. A similar study by The Rent Brigade suggested that number was now higher and that 95% of largely undocumented immigrants experienced rent burden as of September.
Also see: Los Angeles council gives final OK on new caps for rent controlled units
Rent Brigade’s report noted that if those conditions persist, the undocumented population could fall into homelessness and be at further risk of ICE detention.
“Policies that push families into fear and invisibility are fundamentally at odds with solving our state’s housing crisis and with California’s core values, which recognize immigrants as integral to our communities and economy,” said Tina Rosales-Torres, policy advocate and attorney with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, which co-sponsored the bill.
