The Los Angeles City Council advanced a proposal Wednesday to waive towing and impound fees for vehicles belonging to people detained by federal immigration enforcement agencies.
The council voted 11-0 to direct the Los Angeles Police Department and Department of Transportation to return within 15 days with recommendations to implement the plan. City staff will also draft an initiative allowing family members, friends or neighbors to retrieve impounded vehicles at no cost on behalf of a person in federal custody.
Council members Bob Blumenfield, Monica Rodriguez, Katy Yaroslavsky and Marqueece Harris-Dawson were absent during the vote.
The city will also study procedures for collecting, storing, disposing and releasing personal property abandoned as a result of immigration enforcement actions.
Council members Ysabel Jurado and Tim McOsker introduced the motion in August.
“The setting in which federal immigration officers have been kidnapping Angelenos has seemingly no boundaries,” the motion reads. “People are being detained in their homes, at their places of work, at hospitals, at courthouses. Without warning, individuals are being plucked out of their lives, causing chaos for their families and loved ones, and often leaving behind property that will still need to be managed.”
“From street vending carts in parks to cars on city streets to bicycles abandoned on the sidewalk, the vestiges of people’s daily lives remain in the wake of a traumatic detention,” the motion continues. “This sudden and unexpected disruption is not something that can be planned for in advance, something the city should be cognizant of and try to accommodate.”
On a similar vote, the council also approved creating a financial aid program for individuals and families impacted by immigration enforcement and establishing grants for legacy downtown businesses. Jurado introduced that motion June 10 with McOsker and Curren Price.
The Economic and Workforce Development Department recommended launching the DTLA Resilient Legacy Business Grant to support 130 existing downtown businesses, according to Jurado.
Since June 6, federal agencies have conducted immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles and across the county.