MOTEL tenants were kicked out of their rooms after police evicted all guests from the property.
A pregnant woman and her husband were just a couple of the people forced to leave the La Mirage Motel.
“I don’t have a plan,” the expecting mother, Ida Maynor, told local NBC affiliate KGET.
“We’re gonna tent up and I know that this year they passed a law that we can’t even sit out on the streets or be homeless on the streets because it’s against the law now….I don’t know what we’re gonna do.”
Maynor, who is eight months pregnant with a baby girl, and her husband, Jovon Jackson, woke up to law enforcement banging on their door.
The couple said the cops told them they were being evicted as they pounded on the door.
Maynor and her husband grabbed all they could and fled the property.
The expecting parents lived at the La Mirage in Bakersfield, California, for a few months and paid $650 monthly to stay there.
“We need help….resources, housing, job placement, anything,” said Jackson.
“Some type of help, some type of resources.”
The city told KGET that 10-15 people, including the motel’s manager, were evicted.
Law enforcement arrested three residents for outstanding warrants and another for resisting arrest.
The eviction comes a few months after the motel received a warning from the county’s environmental health department about several violations.
In January, the motel was made aware of the violations, which included no hot water, exposed electrical wiring, broken smoke detectors, and vermin infestations.
Bakersfield County ordered the motel to close, but it didn’t follow the order.
Now, the tenants are paying the price.
“They’re arresting the homeless…so why are they putting us out now,” said another La Mirage evictee, Guadalupe Montoya.
“Just to arrest us and put us behind bars?”
California crackdown on homelessness
A 2024 executive order from Governor Gavin Newsom aims to address homelessness in the state. Under the 2024 order, housing encampments can be removed if they pose a threat to the life, health, and safety of the individual. They can also be removed if they threaten the safety and viability of nearby businesses and neighborhoods, such as an encampment along waterways.
Montoya is worried that going out on the streets would affect her health as she has COPD and a lung infection which she needs oxygen for.
“My tanks almost empty and I have another thing that needs to be plugged up.”
A city spokesperson told KGET that they had offered to call the nonprofit organization Flood Ministries to help displaced residents, but the offer was declined.
Residents argued that there was no such offer.
The city said if the La Mirage fixes all violations, it can operate again.
