Melissa Gomez

Monica Rodriguez, scathing critic of City Hall, gets a free ride to a third term No one signed up this week to run against Rodriguez, whose City Council district is based in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

She’s blunt. She’s combative. She doesn’t go along to get along.

And now, Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez is almost certainly getting 4 more years in office, since no is running against her.

A look at one of the most outspoken voices at City Hall:

www.latimes.com/california/n...

ICE training was slashed, records show, corroborating whistleblower claims Previously unreported records also offer new details about what was cut from ICE’s basic training program. Concerns about the quality of ICE agents’ training have mounted for months.

ICE dramatically cut its basic training amid a hiring spree meant to speed up the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, records obtained by The Post show, corroborating a whistleblower’s claim.

L.A. City Council should expand to 25 members, charter reform commission says Supporters say a larger council will better represent smaller ethnic groups, including Black and Asian American and Pacific Islander residents.

L.A. voters could be asked this year to redesign their government in dramatic ways, by switching to ranked-choice voting, adding 10 members to the City Council and reworking the duties of other city elected officials

@melissagomez.bsky.social has the latest

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

Asylum approvals plummet as fearful immigrants skip hearings Fewer than 3% of asylum cases decided in January were approved — a record low, according to Mobile Pathways, a San Francisco nonprofit that analyzes federal immigration data.

In Los Angeles County immigration courts — among the largest in the country — the trend is substantially starker: no-shows made up 56% of the asylum hearings in January, compared with 14% a year earlier.
“That’s not fluctuation ...That’s collapse.”
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

A day of history, joy and anxiety in 'Tehrangeles' as a dream seems suddenly possible Reza Khaleghian, 70, came bursting through the door of Naab Cafe on Saturday morning, phone pressed to his ear, fist held in the air, screaming the news in Farsi at anyone who would listen: "Khamenei is dead!”

A day of history, joy and anxiety in 'Tehrangeles' as a dream seems suddenly possible

He saw an abandoned trailer. Then, he uncovered a surveillance network on California’s border On a cracked two-lane road on the eastern edge of San Diego County, James Cordero eased his Jeep onto the shoulder after something caught his eye.

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

More than $100 million for transportation projects in jeopardy amid L.A. budget woes The Bureau of Street Services will apply with the state for a two-year extension to allow more time to begin the sidewalk, bike lane and other improvements in Boyle Heights, Skid Row and Wilmington.

About $100 million in state funding for transportation projects in Boyle Heights, Skid Row and other parts of L.A. is in jeopardy -- largely because the city doesn't have enough staff to carry out the projects.

More from the LAT's @melissagomez.bsky.social

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

ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

NEW: ICE is leasing offices throughout the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

‘He’s not the same’: Father of Liam Conejo Ramos says 5-year-old continues to suffer Some people thought they say the 5-year-old during the Super Bowl halftime show. But Liam is still in hiding with his family, after he and his father were detained and then released from a Texas deten...

Super Bowl viewers Sunday speculated that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos appeared in the halftime show. In fact, he has been in hiding with his family.

“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.

Jeanette Marantos, L.A. Times plants reporter, dies at 70 Jeanette Marantos, a Features reporter, died following an emergency heart issue. She helped educate readers about native California plants. She described her reporting as her own ongoing education.

We lost an incredible LA Times colleague, Jeanette Marantos. She was a dedicated reporter - when an ICE raid on a cannabis farm broke out last July, Jeanette, whose beat was plants, was first on the scene and central to making sure we had accurate, quick information.
www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.

Hundreds of kids are still detained.

We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵

In Under 500 Words, a Judge Weaponized Wit to Free the Child Detained by ICE Our critic annotates the barbed wordplay of a decision challenging the Trump administration’s theory of executive power.

In Under 500 Words, a Judge Weaponized Wit to Free the Child Detained by ICE
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

In Minnesota, sending a child to school is an act of faith for immigrant families For many immigrant families in Minnesota, sending a child to school requires faith that federal immigration officers deployed around the state won’t detain them. Thousands of children are staying home...

"In some ways, 10-year-old Giancarlo is one of the lucky ones. He still goes to school."
In Minnesota, sending a child to school is an act of faith for immigrant families
www.latimes.com/world-nation...

Opinion | If You Hate Bad Bunny, I Have Bad News for You

"Bad Bunny’s performance isn’t just the story of the ascendancy of a single performer, or of one genre, or even of Latin music more broadly... America’s pop culture today is multilingual, polycultural and international at its very core."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/o...

The Washington Post just laid off its entire award-winning photo team. They were our eyes in places we'll never see. It's a horrifying loss at a time when lying governments, propaganda and AI slop are on the rise.

L.A. public defenders are on a win streak as Trump's Justice Department charges activists The federal public defender's office in L.A. was 5 and 0 against prosecutors in trials related to immigration raids and protests. Trial No. 6 was last month.

"In a system where acquittals are statistical outliers, experts say the federal public defender’s office’s recent wins raise questions about prosecutorial decision-making and the credibility of cases being brought."
great story by Brittny Mejia
www.latimes.com/california/s...

A Legal Tool for Holding ICE Agents to Account, Hiding in Plain Sight

“States can’t just generally regulate ICE conduct, because the federal government gets to regulate that,” he said. “But states can provide remedies against federal officials when federal officials violate federal constitutional rights.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...

BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

Inside a Minneapolis school where 50% of students are too afraid of ICE to show up 'Operation Metro Surge,' the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to nationwide protests after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, has had students, parents and teachers on edge r...

“I describe that day as if you’re on an airplane and it’s really bad turbulence, and you have to keep your cool because, if you don’t, you lose the entire building,” said Emmanuel, an assistant principal. “It felt like we went through war.”
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

My journey from foreign correspondent to Uber driver in Trump's America I once documented human displacement and desperation; now I am living it

An incredible story here about a journalist who used to document displacement is now living it.
"After a life spent both crossing borders and freely reporting on those who struggled to overcome them, I didn’t expect one to rise up beneath my feet."
stevescherer.substack.com/p/my-journey...

Detention of 5-Year-Old by Federal Agents Incenses Minneapolis

"A 5-year-old boy wearing a Spider-Man backpack and an oversized hat was detained with his father by immigration authorities, one of 4 students who have been apprehended in a suburban Minneapolis school district during the past two weeks, school officials said."
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...

She tells the state's water story, from sinking land to fallow fields Your morning catch up: A (water) truth teller in the state's heartland, 2026 Oscar nominations and more big stories.

"Lois is absolutely fierce. She’ll stand up and say what’s really going on."

Great Q&A with Lois Henry about @sjvwater.bsky.social's must-read coverage, by @raineytime.bsky.social:
www.latimes.com/california/n... @latimes.com

Israel kills 3 journalists in Gaza, including CBS News contributor The journalists were killed Wednesday in a strike on their car in central Gaza. Israel’s military said it struck “several suspects” who were operating a drone.

The Israeli military struck and killed three journalists Wednesday as they traveled in their car south of Gaza City, rescue officials and reporters said, the latest in a series of attacks Israel has launched despite a ceasefire that began in October.

'Water bankruptcy' — U.N. scientists say much of the world is irreversibly depleting water With many rivers and aquifers tapped beyond their limits, UN scientists say the world is entering an era of 'water bankruptcy.'

"In a report this week, U.N. scientists warn that the world has entered a new era of “global water bankruptcy” — a term that starkly underlines the urgency of efforts needed to protect what remains." by @ianjames.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/environment/...

The Crisis Year for Journalism Is Here Journalists have an inherent right and professional duty to defend their industry and its mission against those who want to derail it—even when those threats are coming from the inside.

"Don’t treat our responsibilities as self-evident; convey to audiences why we do what we do and how it affects their lives. If we’re “making ourselves the story” in this instance, well, it’s because hostile entities are intent on making us a cautionary tale."
newrepublic.com/article/2050...

Across the country Indigenous nations are warning their citizens they may be targeted by ICE and to carry tribal IDs. If this is not evidence of racial profiling, I don’t know what is.

The Crisis Year for Journalism Is Here Journalists have an inherent right and professional duty to defend their industry and its mission against those who want to derail it—even when those threats are coming from the inside.

As a journalism educator, I spend much time considering our objectives & responsibilities. For @newrepublic.com, I lay out a notion I think should be self-evident: journalism has an inherent right to self-defense. We are under no professional obligation to be even-handed with attempts to destroy us

11 stunning moves by Trump in his first year back in office In the last year, President Trump has taken unprecedented actions, some in line with his campaign promises and others in direct conflict with them.

11 stunning moves by Trump in his first year back in office, by @kevrector.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

ICE agent believed responsible for L.A. killing accused of child abuse, racism in court filings A court filing made public this week claims that a federal immigration agent thought to have shot and killed a Los Angeles man on New Year's Eve was previously accused of child abuse and making racist...

The document says the ICE agent, Officer Brian Palacios, allegedly whipped his sons with a belt, made homophobic slurs and racist remarks about Black and Latino people and brought a gun to a youth sports game.
www.latimes.com/california/s...

Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says A fellow detainee says he witnessed Geraldo Lunas Campos being choked to death by guards at the ICE detention center in Texas on Jan. 3.

Breaking news: An employee of El Paso County’s Office of the Medical Examiner said it is likely to classify the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at an ICE detention center as a homicide. A detainee says he witnessed Campos being choked to death by guards.