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The number of minorities in the United States, including Latinos, is growing rapidly and amidst their increasing number, it is also inevitable that there are challenges they cannot avoid. Some of the problems that they encounter are of course equal opportunities and affordable housing.

In previous years, American citizens have faced an enormous problem with housing. Instead of buying a house some choose to rent. But there are also thousands in the U.S. who are living on the streets or under bridges.

On Monday, the U.S Department of Justice sued Hesperia City and San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office for discriminating against African-Americans and Latinos after illegal evictions were conducted.

In an article published in the Los Angeles Times, the lawsuit filed entails the 2016 Hesperia City Ordinance that requires the landlords to evict the tenants or renters if they are found by the Sheriff to violate the laws or code of conduct on or near the property. It is believed that the city ordinance was passed into law to target African-Americans and Latinos. It was also found that many members of these minority groups were illegally evicted.

The ordinance was surprise as Hesperia City has a growing African-American and Latino population. The city has an estimated population of less than 100,000. 

In the suit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, it was stated that the ordinance of the city led and forced the landlord to evict the entire family, including their children, in the middle months of the year. Moreover, the lawsuit was filed after the Department of Housing and Urban Development found out in their investigation that black tenants were four times more likely to be evicted as non-Hispanic whites. And Latinos were 29 percent were more likely to be evicted as compared to non-Hispanic whites.

The suit also states that the city violated the Fair Housing Act and tenants were evicted even if they did not commit any malicious acts or crimes. It was suggested by the Justice Department that the Sheriff's Department must determine if there are grounds why a tenant should be evicted.

In one of the investigations of the Justice System, it was found that an elderly couple was ousted from their home after their son, who is not living with them, was arrested. It is very clear that the main target of the city ordinance was to oust the African-American and Latino residents due to the growing population. The ordinance most definitely appears to be racist.

The suit said that even though the main purpose of the ordinance as stated to "put measures against crime in the city", its true purpose is for "the removal of African American and Hispanic or Latino renters from their homes and Hesperia and to deter other African-Americans and Latinos from moving to the city."

The majority of the renters in Hesperia City are African-Americans and Latinos. During a council meeting, an official said that the ordinance was needed to be passed because they have to correct the demographical problem in the city. The official continued by adding that some said that the main problem is "people of color" moving in from Los Angeles County.

The spokeswoman of the city, Rachel Molina, defended the ordinance and said that it is simply referring to the criminals and not to minority groups inparticular. She even said that Hesperia is a city with a diverse community and they welcome and embrace diversity in the city.

Moreover, Sharon Green, who filed the lawsuit on Hesperia on Monday, hopes that this will serve as a strong message to other cities in the country that they cannot discriminate against anyone just because of race and ethnicity. The lawsuit came six years after the federal justice system discovered that Los Angeles was allegedly evicting Latinos and African Americans in the Antelope Valley.