Rebecca Plevin

Wildfire threatens Joshua trees in area considered a 'last refuge' for the species The 20-acre fire is burning in the Covington Flats area of Joshua Tree National Park, an important region where experts say the trees are best suited to survive and reproduce in a warming climate.

“This area is important for the long-term survival of the Joshua trees,” Rockwell said. “It’s that last refuge.”

Trump Administration Knew Vast Majority of Venezuelans Sent to Salvadoran Prison Had Not Been Convicted of U.S. Crimes Homeland Security records reveal that officials knew that more than half of the 238 deportees were labeled as having no criminal record in the U.S. and had only violated immigration laws.

The government’s own data, which was obtained by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and a team of journalists from Venezuela, showed that officials knew that only 32 of the deportees had been convicted of U.S. crimes and that most were nonviolent offenses, such as retail theft or traffic violations.

Supreme Court says Trump may end legal parole given to 532,000 migrants from four countries Trump revoked two large-scale Biden policies that extended temporary protection to migrants. "The court plainly botched this," Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in a dissent.

President Trump may seek to deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants who recently entered the United States under a two-year grant of parole, the Supreme Court decided Friday.

It's true -- we are having another round of layoffs at the L.A. Times, the second this month. The vast majority of this cash is already in the pipeline to folks who lost their jobs in early May. I'm hoping we can all dig a bit deeper to support the community journalists laid off this morning.

Column: Are plans for the Joshua Tree Art Museum a desert mirage? A foundation announced the groundbreaking for the Joshua Tree Art Museum, but public records reveal a more complicated picture.

Column: Are plans for the Joshua Tree Art Museum a desert mirage?

4-year-old Bakersfield girl facing deportation could die within days of losing medical care In 2023, a Mexican girl, 4, was allowed U.S. entry for lifesaving medical care. She and her parents, who live in Bakersfield, have been told they must leave.

In 2023, a Mexican girl with a life-threatening medical condition was allowed to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds. The Trump administration has now ordered her and her parents to leave the country. Her says that if her treatment is interrupted, “this could be fatal within a matter of days.”

Health clinics that service immigrants are making house calls on patients too afraid to leave home St. John’s Community Health launched its home visitation program after learning that hundreds of patients were skipping appointments because they're afraid of getting caught up in federal immigration ...

Earlier this year, St. John's Community Healthy began surveying patients and found that hundreds were canceling appointments “solely due to fear of being apprehended by ICE.” It launched a home visitation program in March.

@melissagomez.bsky.social

Father ripped from family as agents target immigration courts, arresting people after cases dismissed The Department of Homeland Security is asking to dismiss its own deportation cases, after which agents arrest immigrants as they leave the courtroom and pursue expedited removals, which require no hea...

The courthouse arrests escalate the administration’s efforts to speed up deportations.

@melissagomez.bsky.social and @racheluranga.bsky.social

White House officials wanted to put federal workers ‘in trauma.’ It’s working. Federal workers describe struggling with panic attacks, depression, suicidal thoughts. “Why doesn’t anyone care?”

Federal workers describe struggling with panic attacks, depression, suicidal thoughts. “Why doesn’t anyone care?”

In a state with a dire affordable housing shortage, does the Coachella Valley offer hope? A decade ago, the posh resort communities of the Coachella Valley produced 38 units of affordable housing a year. Today, thousands of affordable units are planned or under construction in all nine des...

Great reporting from @rebeccaplevin.bsky.social on how the Coachella Valley is actually succeeding at building affordable housing in CA: www.latimes.com/california/s...

Thanks for sharing the story, Sammy!

In America's 'salad bowl,' farmers invest in guest worker housing, hoping to stabilize workforce In Monterey County, growers are building lodging for thousands of guest workers coming in on H-2A visas. Some advocates say it is an injustice for the farmworkers who've lived here for years, many in ...

A strikingly classical, perfectly composed photograph by Genaro Molina in this story. 📸 (Everyone in California should be conversant in agricultural news, ps!) #journalism www.latimes.com/california/s...

Commentary from @calmatters.org: Rejection of Inland Empire warehouse project signals a retreat from California’s decadeslong boom

Newsom calls for walking back free healthcare for eligible undocumented immigrants Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said his spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year will call for requiring all undocumented adults to pay $100 monthly premiums to receive coverage and for blocking all new...

The governor’s spending plan, which will be released late Wednesday morning, calls for requiring all undocumented adults to pay $100 monthly premiums to receive Medi-Cal coverage and for blocking all new adult applications to the program as of Jan. 1.

In America's 'salad bowl,' farmers invest in guest worker housing, hoping to stabilize workforce In Monterey County, growers are building lodging for thousands of guest workers coming in on H-2A visas. Some advocates say it is an injustice for the farmworkers who've lived here for years, many in ...

In Monterey County, local growers have invested their own capital and often their own land to build at least eight housing complexes for thousands of guest workers.

with @melissagomez.bsky.social

Trump administration investigates L.A. County over federal benefits for unauthorized immigrants Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles field office issues a Title 8 subpoena to California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants.

Trump administration investigates L.A. County over federal benefits for unauthorized immigrants

www.latimes.com/world-nation...

In America's 'salad bowl,' farmers invest in guest worker housing, hoping to stabilize workforce In Monterey County, growers are building lodging for thousands of guest workers coming in on H-2A visas. Some advocates say it is an injustice for the farmworkers who've lived here for years, many in ...

Amalia Francisco, a 32-year-old immigrant from southern Mexico, shares a three-bedroom house in Salinas with her three brothers and other roommates. It often takes at least three or four families to cover the monthly rent of $5,000, she said.
@melissagomez.bsky.social @rebeccaplevin.bsky.social

Riverside County sheriff joins lawsuit challenging California's immigrant protections Bianco the only sheriff in the state who has joined the suit, which specifically names Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta as defendants.

While Bianco has said he would repeal SB 54 if elected governor, the suit shows he's not waiting to do so from Sacramento. In joining Huntington Beach's suit, Bianco is going it alone as the sole Riverside County elected official or law enforcement member named as a plaintiff.

Reporter may have to testify in ex-Palm Springs mayor Pougnet's bribery trial A judge ruled Wednesday that a former Desert Sun reporter can be required to testify in the corruption trial of an ex-mayor and developer.

Prosecutors subpoenaed a former Desert Sun reporter to testify in the bribery trial of the former Palm Springs mayor and a developer. The newspaper challenged the subpoena, saying forcing the reporter to testify would violate press freedoms.

Goal of welfare checks: Protect children or launch deportations? Homeland Security officials have said welfare checks aim to ensure that unaccompanied children “are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked.”

DHS officials said welfare checks ensure that unaccompanied minors “are safe and not being exploited."
But advocates say some visits have led to children being forced to leave the country with deported parents or being removed from sponsors.
with Andrea Castillo
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

Thank you for featuring our @latimes.com story!

More layoffs at the LA Times. Statement from our Guild: latguild.com/news/2025/5/...

Life after California's death row: What happens when condemned inmates get a second chance Then-new Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a moratorium on executions and ordered death row dismantled. Years later, inmates say they got a bittersweet new lease on life.

My final story for the LAT ⬇️

Life after California’s death row: what happens when condemned inmates get a second chance

www.latimes.com/california/s...

California warns ICE: Immigration detention centers across state need 'significant improvements' As Trump ramps up his deportation agenda, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta signaled that California would not let up on scrutinizing facilities for detained immigrants.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta warns ICE: Immigration detention centers across state need 'significant improvements'

www.latimes.com/california/s...

Border Patrol can’t arrest people without a warrant in Central Valley, judge says It’s a preliminary win for the United Farm Workers and ACLU lawsuit against the federal government after the January operation in Kern County.

NEW: “Something went wrong,” a federal judge said Monday about Border Patrol's January operation in Kern County known as "Return to Sender." More in @fresnobee.com www.fresnobee.com/news/local/a...

Can $1,000 a month help more students land nursing careers? An L.A. pilot effort says yes L.A. Community College District is giving hundreds of low-income students $1,000 a month in unrestricted income in hopes of keeping them enrolled and helping deliver a more diverse and multilingual he...

Last year, LA Community College District launched a privately funded guaranteed income program for low-income students pursuing health careers.

I followed one student in the initiative to learn how a basic income might influence the lives and choices of L.A. community college students.

Spreckels Sugar Co. to close Brawley facility Spreckels plant closure means as many as 400 job losses and an uncertain future for Imperial Valley agriculture.

Imperial County, which has long struggled with the highest unemployment rate in California, now faces the loss of one of its most valuable crops.

Southeast Asians in L.A. region are being detained, deported at routine ICE check-ins A growing number of Southeast Asian immigrants whose deportation orders have been on indefinite hold are being detained, and in some cases, deported after showing up for routine check-ins with immigra...

In recent months, a number of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese immigrants have been told that deportation orders that had been stayed — in some cases for decades — are now being enforced as the Trump administration seeks to increase the number of deportations. By @melissagomez.bsky.social:

More immigrants opt to self-deport rather than risk being marched out like criminals Even in liberal-leaning California, undocumented immigrants who have worked here for decades are making plans to leave, choosing to depart on their own terms rather than risk being forced out with not...

“What comes up a lot in the sessions is, ‘Prefiero irme con algo, que irme sin nada,’” Luz Gallegos said. “I’d rather leave with something than leave with nothing.”
@rebeccaplevin.bsky.social reports on more immigrants who are opting to self-deport
www.latimes.com/california/s...

We’re About to Find Out What Mass Deportation Really Looks Like The Trump administration’s campaign to remove millions of people from the United States could soon be supercharged by Congress.

The Trump administration’s campaign to remove millions of people from the United States could soon be supercharged by Congress.

“Once the funding is there, it’ll be a question of execution.’’

via @nickmiroff.bsky.social