The immigrant renters the eviction moratorium didn’t protect

Protesters rally in front of Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose on Jan. 27, 2021, demanding stronger state eviction protections. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

This reporting is a collaboration between El Tímpano and KQED. Originally aired on KQED’s The Bay podcast on September 29, 2021.

California’s eviction moratorium is set to expire tomorrow, September 30. But in many parts of the Bay, Latino immigrant tenants have still been getting evicted by their landlords.

That’s because protections on paper haven’t necessarily added up to protections in practice, as many renters have not been made aware of their rights and face barriers to receiving rental assistance.

KQED’s Ericka Cruz Guevarra spoke with El Tímpano’s Madeleine Bair to learn about one Oakland family that has been displaced twice this year, and to discuss the larger pattern of unofficial evictions affecting Latino immigrants.