The U.S. Department of Justice sued the city of Hesperia and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department on Monday, charging they discriminated against African Americans and Latinos through wrongful evictions. The suit said the city passed the law to target Latino and African American tenants, many of whom were disproportionately evicted. Hesperia, a Mojave Desert city of just under 100,000 people, passed the ordinance at a time when its African American and Latino populations were growing. The Sheriff’s Department determined which tenants should be ousted. The suit said the majority of renters in Hesperia in 2016 were African American or Latino.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 02, 2019 23:50 UTC