Latino tenants sue landlords. One lawyer told them they would be “picked up by ice.”

Throughout her legal career, Sarah McCracken has never seen the email she received on June 25.

McCracken, a tenant rights lawyer at Tobener Ravenscroft, currently representing a Latino family, sued landlords and real estate agents for illegal evictions after being kicked out of their Baldwin Park home last year.

After a few weeks of service, in a series of ice raids targeting the Latino community in Los Angeles County, Rod Fehlman, attorney Rod Fehlman, who appeared to represent agents, sent a series of emails to McCracken’s team asking for a lawsuit and urging them to withdraw the case.

He ended his dealings on it: “Also be aware that your clients will likely be picked up on ice and deported before trial thanks to all the excellent work the Trump administration has done with immigration in California.”

“It’s racist,” McCracken said. “It’s not only immoral, but it can be illegal, and it’s just a very crazy word, especially because my client is a U.S. citizen.”

The comment arrived when ICE exacerbated tensions between landlords and Latino tenants. According to California. General Rob Bonta, Ice has always been Put pressure on some landlords Report the immigration status of their tenants.

Bonta’s office issued a consumer alert Tuesday to landlords “in California, it is illegal to discriminate against tenants or harass or retaliate against tenants by disclosing their immigration status to law enforcement.”

Fairman did not respond to a request for comment, nor did he appear to represent clients: real estate agent David Benavides and broker Majesty One Properties, Inc. Fehlman’s role in this case is unclear; Benavides and his agents used another law firm to respond to McCracken’s complaint, according to a request for comment from The New York Times.

But according to McCracken, Fehlman acts as the defendant’s personal attorney and may still be in a consulting role.

Exited

From 2018 to 2024, Yicenia Morales rented a two-bedroom apartment in Baldwin Park, which she shared with her husband, three children and grandchildren. According to her illegal eviction lawsuit filed in May, there are many problems with the house: power failure, bathroom leaks, poor ventilation, broken heater, air conditioning units and garage doors.

“There are a lot of issues that need to be solved, but we accepted it because we were happy to find a place to live,” Morales said.

The real problem began in 2024, when her housemate, Celia Ruiz, began asking her family to leave because she wanted to sell the property, which was not a justification for California law or the Justice Evicting Ordinance at Baldwin Park, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, Ruiz then changed her story, claiming she wanted to move into the house herself, which would be a legitimate reason for the eviction. According to the lawsuit, Ruiz and David Benavides, her real estate agent Ma’s next property, kept urging Morales and her family to leave.

In September, the pressure is getting stronger. Ruiz wrote a handwritten note saying she needed the house to go back, and Benavidez started calling them almost every day, the lawsuit said.

In November, assuming Ruiz needed to move back, Morales left. However, Ruiz did not move, but instead brought the property to market in January and sold it before March.

“I really believe she needs her own house,” Morales said. “I’m just tired of people taking advantage of others.”

Lawyer Strategy

McCracken said Fehrman’s comments could be illegal based on your interpretation of California’s business and professional regulations. Section 6103.7 Said that attorneys can be suspended, prohibited or disciplined if they “report suspected immigration status or threaten to report witnesses or parties’ suspected immigration status in civil or administrative proceedings.” ”

in addition, California State Bar Attorneys are prohibited from threatening to file criminal, administrative or disciplinary charges to gain the advantage of civil disputes.

You might say that Fehlman’s email is not a threat. He never said he called Bing, just claiming that Morales and her family were “probably picked up by Bing and deported.”

Morales and her entire family are American citizens. But she said she felt racist because of her last name.

“It’s unfair to him to use this,” she said. “I was born here. I have a birth certificate. I pay taxes.”

For safety reasons, Morales sent her birth certificate to McCracken’s team. Even if she is a citizen, she is still unsafe if Fehlman reports her to Ice.

Federal agents have Arrested American citizens In the recent raid in Los Angeles, 2018 survey It was discovered at the time that ICE had arrested nearly 1,500 U.S. citizens since 2012 and detained for several years at a time.

“I’m already frustrated with the eviction. Now I’m also hurt, embarrassed and nervous. Will he really play ice on us?” Morales said.

McCracken said Fehrman’s message is a byproduct of the current anti-immigration political environment. Fehlman sent this email on June 25 2,031 arrests Of the seven counties in Southern California, 68% have no criminal convictions.

“People seem brave enough to break the law because they see people doing it on it,” she said. “It’s totally unacceptable.”

Ironically, Fehrman’s own client was also Latino at the time, she added.

“I don’t know if Benavides knows that his lawyer is making comments on the race profile, but I don’t think he wants to work with someone like that,” McCracken said.

The case is still in its early stages. Benavides and Jen’s Next Property responded to the complaint on July 17, and McCracken’s team has not yet officially served landlord Ruiz because they were unable to find her.

The communication between McCracken and Fairman paused after commenting on the ice. McCracken’s decision to decide that Fehlman’s rant and possible threats did not guarantee a response, and during this time Fehlman said nothing. Her team is still deciding how to proceed after the comments, which can justify the legal action.

She called it a dangerous attempt to relax the client’s speech and failed to intimidate her to leave the case. But he walked too far.

“We are at a time when lawyers need to uphold the rule of law,” she said. “Especially in times like this.”