The Brief

Police in Huntington Park arrested a man this week who they said tried to impersonate a federal immigration agent.

The Tuesday arrest comes amid heightened fears over immigration enforcement sweeps by masked agents across Southern California.

Police arrested Fernando Diaz, 23, of Los Angeles after they found him in possession of an unlicensed handgun, three handheld radios mounted on the center console of his car, and a list of radio codes for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to city officials.

LAist is working to find out whether Diaz has an attorney, and if he has been charged in court.

Details about the arrest

According to Huntington Park officials, police officers were initially drawn to a car, later linked to Diaz, that was parked without a handicap placard in a handicapped space. They said the car was an unmarked Dodge Durango with red and blue lights like the ones law enforcement use hidden under the car’s visors.

Officers ran the plates with dispatch and learned it was not registered to law enforcement.

Diaz claimed he worked as a security guard and had been with Customs and Border Protection but could not provide any identifying information, according to Huntington Beach Police Chief Cosme Lozano.

“A sheet containing radio codes, multiple copies of passports not registered to the individual’s name and other miscellaneous items indicative of criminal activity,” Lozano said at a Friday news conference.

The chief said Diaz also had official-looking documents bearing the name Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection.

Diaz was arrested on an outstanding DUI warrant. He had a prior arrest related to human smuggling, but no conviction, according to city officials.

LAist has reached out to the county District Attorney's Office for more information about any charges that may have been filed against Diaz. We will update the story when we get a response.

Heightened fears over ICE raids

Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores noted the arrest comes as people are facing raids by masked immigration agents in unmarked cars.

“The presence of law enforcement style equipment without any verified authority raises serious concerns,” Flores said. “When people cannot trust who is enforcing the law, public safety is undermined and fear begins to take hold.”

“We cannot allow bad actors — whether they are rogue individuals or unauthorized impersonators — to intimidate and exploit our community,” he added.

On Wednesday, the Huntington Park City Council passed a resolution directing police to verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a federal immigration agent in the city.

“Let me be clear, Huntington Park is not attempting to obstruct legal federal operations. What we are saying is simple, if you are acting with federal authority, then show it,” Flores said. “Do not hide behind unmarked vehicles and face masks.”

Flores said local law enforcement has sought for decades to build trust with immigrant communities, but current ICE operations are eroding that.

“There is a better way to conduct enforcement — one that does not terrorize neighborhoods or blur the line between lawful action and dangerous intimidation,” he said.

The city resolution also said Huntington Park “strongly condemns using unmarked vehicles, masked agents, and unidentifiable personnel in immigration enforcement activities conducted within the City, and views such tactics as harmful to public trust, community safety, and constitutional protections.”

Meantime, a new California bill — called the “No Vigilantes Act” — would require law enforcement working in the state to clearly display identification information, including either name or badge number, and ban bounty hunters from engaging in any form of immigration enforcement.

President Donald Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and said GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma would replace her.

Noem "will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida," Trump posted on social media. "I thank Kristi for her service at 'Homeland.'"

Noem is the first cabinet secretary to leave the Trump administration in the second term. The announcement comes after Noem spent two days being grilled by lawmakers in Congress over her leadership.

Mullin has been a defender of the president and his immigration agenda.

"A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda," Trump said in his post highlighting Mullin's position as the only Native American in the Senate. "Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., (left), speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on last month.

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Mullin will need to be confirmed by the Senate in order to take on the role permanently.

Noem, who was formerly South Dakota's governor, had been at the forefront of Trump's efforts to carry out mass deportations. Following her confirmation, she quickly became the face of the administration's immigration agenda — making multimillion dollar ads urging people to self deport, conducting press conferences around the country touting deportation numbers and conducting international visits geared at promoting Trump's vision.

She is the highest-profile departure in recent weeks at the agency. Madison Sheehan, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement deputy director, left her post at the start of the year to run for Congress. Top agency spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin left her role last month.

At the start of her second year on the job, Noem faced bipartisan criticism over her leadership of an immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis, where she deployed 3,000 officers and two U.S. citizens were killed. Some of the loudest voices on the right for her resignation came from Sens. Thom Tillis, N.C., who is not running for reelection, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Other Republicans denounced Noem after she referred to 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was shot by two border patrol agents, as a "domestic terrorist" before any investigation had begun. Following the event, Congress, amid opposition from Democrats, failed to pass a budget to fund the Homeland Security Department and attempted to negotiate immigration enforcement reforms.

Noem was asked to testify before the Senate and House judiciary committees in early March — as her agency was in the third week of a shut down. She said 100,000 employees were furloughed including those who work in cybersecurity and disaster relief.

During the hearings she sparred with lawmakers of both parties over the tactics used by immigration officers, spending at her agency and her broader leadership. Noem also received questions regarding a letter sent by DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, which accused Noem's department of having "systematically obstructed the work of the DHS Office of Inspector General" as he sought data related to immigrant arrests, airport security programs and counterintelligence. 

Noem was the face of the mass deportation agenda 

During Noem's time helming the 250,000 person agency, DHS was at the center of an ambitious effort to arrest, detain and deport 1 million people without legal status per year. Data from DHS released in the fall shows the department deported 605,000 people and has a historic high number of people in immigration detention.

As secretary, Noem oversaw the start of a hiring surge to bring on thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and the proliferation of Border Patrol agents as enforcers throughout the country.

Noem's confirmation out of the Senate sailed through, despite questions over how much money the agency was asking for to conduct immigration enforcement and policy directives coming from personnel high up at the White House, such as border czar Tom Homan.

While on the job, Noem drew scrutiny over the handling of national disaster relief and resources and her selection of Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign aide, for a DHS special employee advisory role. Noem's DHS has also consistently ended up in the crosshairs of legal scrutiny — from immigration courts to the Supreme court. Federal district judges have blocked DHS from using wartime powers to expedite deportations, and ordered some deportees returned.

If confirmed, Mullins will advise the president on a wide range of security issues. This also includes being in charge of the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and a prominent role in counter-terrorism, aviation security and cybersecurity.

Turnover within Trump's Cabinet has been minimal this term so far. Over the course of his first term, Trump had five DHS secretaries, including three who were acting secretaries.

Copyright 2026 NPR

For college students seeking a job that fits around their academic schedules, and the opportunity to do meaningful work in their communities, a popular state program offers both.

Since it launched in 2022, the state program known as College Corps has been paying college students for community service work. And it has become so popular that only 30% of students who apply get a position.

The program helps college students, including those who are immigrants lacking permanent legal status, pay for college while serving in community-based organizations.

Students are dispersed across California tackling diverse needs. Fellows were key, for instance, in helping food banks meet a surge in demand during last year’s government shutdown, said Josh Fryday, director of California Service Corps. And during the wildfires in Los Angeles last January, fellows were there to support, he said.

“When the government shut down and there was a huge shortage or huge demand at the food bank and they needed support, it was our College Corps members that got deployed. Same thing after the fires,” said Fryday.

The program has recruited more than 3,000 students each academic year since it started, some serving multiple years. Students serve 15 hours a week for 30 weeks and receive monthly stipends totaling $7,000 for the academic school year. At that time those who complete 450 service hours receive an additional $3,000 educational award.

Student volunteer Yongjie restocks shelves with canned goods at the UC Berkeley campus food pantry on Oct. 25, 2019.

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College Corps is just one program within California Service Corps, a statewide service initiative that consists of three other paid service programs sending members into communities around the state.

The state gave College Corps $83.6 million for 2026-27 in addition to a one-time $5 million allotment this academic year to help expand the program to additional campuses. The program currently has 45 participating campuses, 41 of them across California’s public community college and university systems. For the next cohort, they’re planning to expand to 52 campuses and recruit about 4,000 students. Some of the new partner sites include Cal State Northridge, Monterey Peninsula College and UC Santa Barbara.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office had recommended rejecting the request for more funding, and it was cut from the budget proposal in June. However, it was reinstated in the final Budget Act.

The program started as a pilot, intended to run through 2023-24 while receiving one-time funding each year. Now, according to the LAO budget overview for 2025-26, the intent is to continue with the $84 million in annual funding permanently starting in 2026-27. Of the $84 million, $45 million would go towards program support and administrative costs for the program while the rest would go toward aid for students.

The College Corps program is open to students at participating campuses, including those who qualify for AB 540, a state law that allows eligible students without legal status to qualify for California in-state tuition and aid. The state has about 100,000 immigrant students without permanent legal status who don’t qualify for federal work-study programs and many lack the necessary permits to work other jobs, according to the Higher Education Immigration Portal.

“I wanted to make sure that we gave an opportunity to our Dreamers to be part of [College Corps],” said Fryday. “We’ve had unbelievable success stories of AB 540 students… [by] having this program change their lives and giving them opportunities that they, quite frankly, have been excluded from for far too long.”

Officials with California Service Corps did not provide numbers on how many spots are filled by immigrant students eligible for in-state tuition and aid under AB 540.

Rafael, an immigrant student and College Corps fellow, came from Mexico to the United States at the age of 14. He requested that his full name not be used due to concerns about his legal status.

Job opportunities do not come easy for Rafael due to his lack of a Social Security number.

“For undocumented students, there are not a lot of things that you can apply to be part of,” he said. “So that was also kind of like my only opportunity.”

Within the program, fellows can choose to serve in K-12 education, climate action or food insecurity. Students often help with tutoring at school sites, work with food banks, and serve at their campus gardens and food pantries.

Eligible students must be full-time undergraduates and study at one of eight participating University of California campuses, 17 California State Universities, 23 community colleges, and four private colleges.

Fellows get sworn in by Gov. Gavin Newsom during a ceremony in Sacramento on Oct. 7, 2022.

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“We have students from all different backgrounds and our students are also getting different perspectives of diversity and empathy and learning how to see how other people live in their community,” said Katrina Gilmore, director of College Corps at Cal State Bakersfield.

Rafael, an English major, currently volunteers at a history museum in his community, a role he holds close to his heart. When he visited a museum for the first time in Mexico, he was amazed by the exhibits and the curiosity they sparked. He is now helping the museum develop an audio tour guide of the exhibits in English and Spanish to help more people feel included.

“It was really touching because my first language is Spanish and I remember having a hard time learning a lot of things,” he said. “I have been in that position. I know how it feels.”

Fellows are chosen based on their interest in service and availability to juggle the service hours with their academics. Eligible students must be full-time undergraduates, have good academic standing and demonstrate financial need.

Currently, UC Berkeley has 98 College Corps student workers. More than 200 students applied, said Ashley Kelly, a supervisor for the program at UC Berkeley.

“That just demonstrated to us that there's a huge desire and demand to do this program, that the program is working, it's impactful, and we just need to keep working to create more opportunities for students to be part of programs like this,” said Fryday.

California Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday speaks at the College Corps fellows swearing-in event in Sacramento on Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters For Lori Dominguez, a College Corps fellow at Cal State Bakersfield, the program has helped her pay for school. She said that if it wasn’t for the program, she would probably have to drop out of college.

“I have loans for my education, and, like, I’m broke, and I barely have job experience,” said Dominguez.

Dominguez struggled with school last year after leaving her job at her local library to take care of her mom who had surgery. She sought out College Corps as a way to pay for school with a program that understands that her education is her priority.

She currently serves with Habitat for Humanity ReStore, a secondhand store whose profits go towards building affordable homes in the community. Dominguez processes donated items such as clothing, toys and furniture.

The program is flexible with students' schedules, allowing Dominguez to make up missed hours at different work sites and giving her the opportunity to earn money while still being able to pursue a biology degree. She hopes to become a clinical lab scientist.

DJ Nunley and his wife, Lynn Nunley, in Albany on Feb. 27, 2026.

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Djuane "DJ” Nunley, a senior at UC Berkeley, has been a College Corps fellow since its pilot year. He joined the program at College of the Desert in Coachella Valley, before transferring to UC Berkeley.

He served in both campus’ food pantries and also worked at a food warehouse in Coachella Valley where he sorted food before it spoiled to see what could be preserved.

“I would see how families would just be so excited to get the food that they were getting,” said Nunley. “It was a humbling experience.”

He currently serves with UC Berkeley’s Incarceration to College program, tutoring incarcerated youth — and youth whose parents have been incarcerated — at Alameda County Juvenile Hall and with Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, a community-based organization.

Nunley’s wife Lynn attended College of the Desert and joined College Corps at the same time with a desire to help the community. They were both accepted and transferred to UC Berkeley, where they moved with their eight kids ranging in age from three to 16.

“[College Corps] helped us out a big deal… We have a lot of children and raising kids is not easy. And financially, it's a lot on us,” said Nunley.

For Nunley, the hardest thing about being a College Corps fellow is juggling his service hours, school and family. But he manages with the support of his wife and his older kids.

Nunley was in the entertainment business for 12 years, making music and working as a freelance writer. He started college as an English major hoping to brush up on his writing skills. Joining College Corps shifted his career aspirations away from his original plan and towards helping children.

He is now double majoring in psychology and social welfare with plans of going to graduate school and becoming a psychologist that specializes in talk therapy for youth with traumatic experiences. He wants to open a nonprofit organization in Coachella Valley with his wife to assist kids from underrepresented communities.

“Once I became a part of College Corps, my perspective in life changed, like I had a great epiphany… I realized how my words could actually uplift,” said Nunley.

Brittany Oceguera is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

If last week was art week, this week is books week, with live reading events seeing a little resurgence. I'm not sure who's responsible for this harkening back to the 19th-century literary salon in L.A., but I’m glad someone is doing it. Maybe it’s a retreat to simpler times, given the weight of the world lately? Whatever it is, reading a book is always the best idea.

Sunday is also International Women’s Day, and what better way to celebrate than seeing some incredible female musicians? Licorice Pizza has your picks, including Sienna Spiro returning to the Troubadour on Friday and L.A. icon Aimee Mann’s first of two nights at Chinatown’s brand-new Pacific Electric venue — she returns there Saturday. Saturday also has the Cypher Summit Block Party taking place all day at USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance (free with RSVP), and Sunday is Support the Girls Fest (natch!) at Hotel Cafe.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can get a sneak peek at Getty Villa’s Book of the Dead exhibit, check out artist S.C. Mero’s utility box theater and grab tickets for Saturday’s FilmWeek Oscar Preview.

Events

L.A. Marathon

Sunday, March 8, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Various locations; finish line in Century City
COST: FREE TO WATCH; MORE INFO 

Runners at the starting line of the L.A. Marathon.

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Sharon McNary

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Get those signs ready and cheer on your favorite runner at the L.A. Marathon. With a course that covers the city from the starting line at Dodger Stadium to the finish line at Century City, you can get a glimpse at the biggest race of the year from almost anywhere. But be aware of road closures!

Dragon Boat Festival

Saturday, March 7, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Burton Chace Park 
13650 Mindanao Way, Marina del Rey
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Los Angeles County Dragon Boat Festival

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The sea lions probably have the best view, but it won’t be hard to spot the 40 elaborate dragon boats competing in this year’s L.A. County Dragon Boat Festival in Marina Del Rey. The event also includes arts and crafts activities, music and more.

I Love Reading 

Sunday, March 8, 4 p.m.
Frank News 
7151 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Quarters Gallery has quietly been popping up events with the art and literary set at unique spaces all over town, and this time they're hosting a salon with Frank News, a publication that's also been building up a following among L.A. readers. Authors and poets, including @aidenarata, @kitkatcoffin_, @fifidunks, @genius.activity and @94diskont will be sharing their work and reading their favorite writers for a mellow Sunday afternoon.

Heavy Traffic launch

Saturday, March 7, 7:30 p.m.
Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

I told you there were a lot of readings this week. Heavy Traffic is publishing its seventh edition and celebrating the literary magazine’s launch with some heavy hitters in the writing world. The magazine will host readings by Otessa Moshfegh, Johanna Stone and Amie Barrodale at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre.

Cypher Summit Block Party

Friday and Saturday, March 6 to 7 
USC's Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center 
849 West 34th St., University Park
COST: FREE WITH RSVP;  MORE INFO 

This Women’s History Month, celebrate with a dance party and learning opportunity that pays homage to women in hip-hop and street-dance culture. From a street-dance seminar with Latasha Barnes to a hip-hop workshop with Fantaye to a breakdancing workshop with B-boy Summit’s Asia One on Friday to Saturday’s all-day dance performance schedule, USC’s Glorya Kaufman Center is putting women in hip-hop front and center.

Dana Point Festival of Whales 

Friday to Sunday, March 6 to 8 
34675 Golden Lantern, Dana Point 
COST: MANY EVENTS FREE; MORE INFO 

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Welcome the whales at the annual Dana Point Festival of Whales, which celebrates the return of the once-endangered California gray whale. The annual weekend is no fluke (sorry), with a kickoff parade, carnival, sand sculpting, a beach clean-up morning and, of course, whale-watching opportunities.

Nollywood in Hollywood Film Showcase

Friday to Saturday, March 6 to 7
Aero Theatre and USC Norris Cinema Theatre 
Santa Monica and University Park 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Nollywood in Hollywood

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Nigerian film comes to L.A. with the return of the annual Nollywood in Hollywood festival. Now in its seventh edition, the free program brings together filmmakers and audiences for screenings of three new Nigerian films, all by women directors — Stitches, When Nigeria Happens, and To Adaego With Love.

OC Lantern Festival

Saturday, March 7, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Pacific Symphony

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Wrap up Lunar New Year season in Costa Mesa with the Pacific Symphony and South Coast Chinese Cultural Center. This free event features music, dance and stunning lantern displays.