immigration

A person wearing a colorful ascot and a flannel shirt on a city street, looking off to the side, with trees and buildings along a busy city street softly blurred in the background.

Justice

Teens walked out of school to protest ICE. Police are investigating the adults who helped them

High school students all over California walked out of class in protest over the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement. Police in two cities, conservative Clovis and liberal Los Angeles, issued warnings about potential arrests to adults who helped them.

By Nigel Duara • March 17, 2026

A view of four silhouettes, three people and one child, seen through a fence with another chain-linked fence and brick wall in the background. The silhouettes are all walking in one direction towards the right side of the frame, with the fence distorting the view of the frame.

Commentary

I crossed the border alone as a child. Here’s what I learned about family separation

To understand what mass deportations are really about, we must examine the systems that have long separated families of color across the Americas.

By Skye Harris • March 12, 2026

A group of officials and staff walk down a roadway beside a high chain-link fence topped with razor wire outside a large facility, with parked cars and low hills in the background under bright afternoon sun.

Justice

San Diego County sues ICE after it blocked health inspection at detention center

San Diego County is suing the Trump administration for illegally blocking officials from inspecting ICE detention centers. There have been ‘alarming reports’ about unsafe conditions inside the centers.

By Wendy Fry • March 10, 2026

A law enforcement officer uses a metal chain to detain a person in handcuffs. The person is facing away from the camera while standing near a truck and other law enforcement officers.

Commentary

ICE surge in Minneapolis parallels California gang database debacle

ICE agents arrest people based on looks or skin color, as police in California did years ago when databases falsely listed many as gang members.

By George Galvis • March 9, 2026

A person wearing a white sweater with blue stripes on the arm and a blue UCLA shirt underneath stands in a field near an apartment building, with tree branches poking into the background.

College Beat

How college students can earn $10,000 for making a difference in CA communities

The popular College Corps program pays students up to $10,000 for community service work including tutoring incarcerated youth, assisting at food banks and more. The program is expanding from 45 to 52 campuses, adding hundreds of more students.

By Brittany Oceguera • March 5, 2026

Illustration of three silhouetted figures standing at large airport windows holding suitcases, watching an airplane outside at sunset. Collaged documents and travel papers lie at their feet, including visible text referencing Japanese ancestry, suggesting a historical or migration theme.

Commentary

Trump’s war on immigrants repeats shameful chapter in America’s past

In the 1940s, U.S. politicians used racial prejudice and fear to justify deporting and detaining Japanese residents, including U.S. citizens. Today's playbook is similar.

By Evelyn Iritani • March 2, 2026

The afternoon sun illuminates the backs of people standing outside a building holding red and white signs that say "ICE out of Escondido."

Politics

‘Tonight isn’t about bullets and targets. It’s about boundaries’: Residents denounce ICE contract

Despite hundreds of residents voicing their opposition to a contract with ICE to share the use of a police firing range, the Escondido City Council declined to cancel the agreement during a five-hour meeting on Wednesday night.

By Deborah Brennan • February 26, 2026

A roadside device mounted on a small trailer sits on the shoulder beside a two-lane road as a blurred van drives past, with utility poles, trees, and rocky hills in the background under a clear sky.

Justice

He saw an abandoned trailer. Then, he uncovered a surveillance network on California’s border

Southern California residents are noticing new license plate readers that appear to be operated by the Border Patrol. Some have had confusing encounters with agents.

By Wendy Fry and Khari Johnson • February 26, 2026

Semi-trucks are parked in a dirt lot, including a gray tractor attached to a refrigerated trailer and a white truck with its hood raised as tools lie on the ground nearby under a clear sky.

Economy

California must let immigrant truck drivers keep their licenses, judge rules

Facing pressure from the Trump administration, California tried to revoke more than 20,000 trucking licenses from certain immigrants, including many asylum seekers. In a tentative ruling, a Bay Area judge said these drivers should be able to keep their licenses, at least temporarily.

By Adam Echelman • February 25, 2026

A burned SUV sits inside the entrance of a damaged store, its exterior charred and paint blistered, surrounded by soot-blackened walls and debris. Red shopping carts line the left side, while stuffed toys and shattered glass lie scattered across the wet floor in the foreground.

Justice

Mexico takes out ‘El Mencho’: What the violence could mean for the U.S. border

Violence broke out in at least a dozen Mexican states after the slaying of a cartel kingpin known as 'El Mencho'. The instability could drive migrants to the U.S. border.

By Wendy Fry • February 23, 2026

Immigration