The Brief

The Department of Homeland Security said agents who attempted to speak with students at two South L.A. elementary schools last week were there to conduct “wellness checks” on unaccompanied immigrant children to ensure their safety.

Representatives from multiple immigrant children’s defense groups told LAist these efforts could be a tool for removing unaccompanied minors from the country.

“They can call them ‘wellness checks’ [or] whatever they want. ... But we see [them] for what they are,” said Lilit Melkonyan, a managing attorney at the Central American Resource Center's deportation defense unit.

In January, the Trump administration ended a longstanding policy that limited immigration enforcement actions at “sensitive locations,” including schools.

“It's not about the well-being of the kids,” said Gladis Molina Alt, executive director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. The “wellness checks,” she added, “are a cloak for immigration enforcement, [for] hunting down undocumented people in our communities and undoing reunifications that the government had previously approved.”

What happened at the schools 

According to Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, casually dressed individuals who identified themselves as Homeland Security agents entered Russell Elementary and Lillian Street Elementary — both in South L.A.'s Florence-Firestone area — on April 7 and asked to speak with a total of five students between the two schools.

When school staff tried to take down the agents' names and badge numbers, they “pocketed their IDs,” Carvalho said.

The principals denied those agents entry when they could not provide a warrant.

A Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed the visit, but said the purpose was to check on the health and welfare of students “who arrived unaccompanied at the border.”

Who's responsible for the welfare of unaccompanied children? And what’s a ‘wellness check’? 

When children cross the border without a parent or guardian, they are often initially taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, then transferred to the care of another federal agency called the Office of Refugee Resettlement, under the Department of Health and Human Services. The Office of Refugee Resettlement confirmed in an email to LAist that it places children in shelters until they can be connected to a “sponsor,” often a family member in the U.S. who can care for them while their immigration case is adjudicated.

Jason Boyd, vice president of U.S. federal policy at Kids In Need of Defense, said Refugee Resettlement is also responsible for administering legal and social services for children who have been released from custody and placed with sponsors.

Those legal services can include representation of unaccompanied children, he added, “so that they have an attorney to help ensure due process and fairness in their immigration cases” and protect them from trafficking and exploitation.

Federal law requires that "to the greatest extent practicable” these children have access to free legal counsel. (In March, the Trump administration ended a contract for an organization that provides these services for 26,000 unaccompanied migrant children.)

Other services are typically administered by social workers, who can help enroll children in local schools and connect them with medical providers, Boyd added.

Ongoing monitoring “consisted largely of follow-up phone calls to children and their sponsors,” he said. Children in especially vulnerable situations may get more intensive services, “including in-home engagement with children and their sponsors that serve as a useful check against potential abuse or other harm.” Central American Resource Center's Melkonyan and the Young Center’s Molina Alt echoed Boyd’s description.

In fiscal year 2024, DHS transferred 98,356 unaccompanied migrant children to the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to the agency. This child is a Honduran immigrant who was staying with her extended family when pictured here on on April 25, 2021 in Sellersburg, Indiana. She spent nearly eight weeks in shelters in U.S. Health and Human Services custody.

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The Office of Refugee Resettlement confirmed that the agency’s care providers “must conduct a Safety and Well-Being Follow Up Call with an unaccompanied alien child and their sponsor 30 days after their release. The purpose of the follow up call is to determine whether the child is still residing with the sponsor, is enrolled in or attending school, is aware of upcoming court dates, and is safe,” the email added.

Melkonyan and the other immigrant children’s advocates noted that the officials who went to the two LAUSD schools are part of Homeland Security Investigations, which typically conducts criminal probes.

“Nothing that [the Trump] administration is doing under the guise of ‘wellness checks’ of unaccompanied minors is normal,” Melkonyan stressed.

The visits carried out by the Department of Homeland Security “are operationally distinct from ORR [Refugee Resettlement] services,” Boyd said.

He said his clients and partners have shared that, in many cases, Homeland Security “wellness checks” consist of four to six plainclothes officers arriving unannounced at unaccompanied children’s homes, asking to speak with the children and their sponsors.

The Chicago-based Young Center recently received a referral about one such case, Molina Alt said. Following a “wellness check,” a child was placed in federal custody after his eldest brother was detained, and his other family members — including his aunt, a lawful permanent resident — were not allowed to take over caring for him.

LAist reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for details about the “wellness checks” its officers attempted to carry out in Los Angeles, including what triggers them and what they involve.

In an email response, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin did not answer these questions. She said her department’s officers “made it clear” that they were not at LAUSD schools to take enforcement actions.

Who can access students at school? 

Access to students by people other than their family, guardians, school staff, contractors or authorized visitors is limited by federal law and state education code. For example, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act limits access to students’ public school education records.

"Any visitor seeking to enter a school must have lawful business to be on campus. If a visitor seeks access to a student or pupil record information, they must provide legal authorization for their request,” wrote an LAUSD spokesperson in a statement. “Typically, this is in the form of a judicial warrant, subpoena, or other court orders."

Carvalho said in an interview with NPR that there is no record of federal agents attempting to conduct a “wellness check” in LAUSD schools “going back a number of years.”

The California attorney general's office, which instructs schools to contact one of its departments in the event that law enforcement agents attempt to enter a school or talk to students related to immigration, declined to comment on whether it is aware of any attempted enforcement actions at schools since the start of Donald Trump’s second term as president.

Two of the region's other largest school districts, Long Beach Unified and Santa Ana Unified, said through spokespeople that there have been no immigration enforcement incidents on their campuses. LAist also requested information from San Bernardino City Unified which has yet to respond.

LAUSD guidance acknowledges that law enforcement officers, including immigration agents, may visit campuses as part of their investigations, to subpoena student records, and serve a search warrant.

The district tells school administrators to follow a series of steps if federal immigration officers arrive on campus. They include:

• Notify district administrators and the Los Angeles School Police Department. 
• Ask the agent about the purpose of their visit, their name and badge number, and the phone number of their supervisor. 
• Obtain and copy any documentation such as a subpoena, search warrant or court orders and share a copy with district administrators. 
• Tell the officer that they cannot respond to their request without direction from the district, including legal counsel. The exception would be an “exigent circumstance,” for example those related to national security, terrorism, imminent risk of death, violence or physical harm, or pursuit of a “dangerous” felon. 

The only scenario where an administrator may grant agents access to a student without consultation with district higher-ups is when the agent presents a signed federal judicial warrant (i.e., a search-and-seizure warrant or arrest warrant).

In an email statement, a Long Beach Unified spokesperson said: “We want to emphasize that our district remains committed to protecting the rights and privacy of all students and families, regardless of immigration status.”

The spokesperson also said that training on how to respond to inquiries or visits from immigration or enforcement officials “will be extended to include teachers and school support personnel, ensuring that every school is informed, prepared, and equipped to support our students and families.”

They added that the district has previously shared immigration-related protocols and resources with staff since January, and has done trainings and provided resources for students and families around their rights.

LAUSD, Long Beach Unified and Santa Ana Unified also noted that they do not collect information about a student’s immigration status.

‘Look at the whole picture’ 

With regard to Homeland Security visits at schools, the Young Center’s Molina Alt said it’s crucial to look at the wider landscape.

“Just because the [Trump] administration says ‘we're doing that for the well-being of [children],’ we cannot take that at face value. We have to look at the whole picture. And what we see are increased obstacles for undocumented sponsors, and even family members with documents, to reunify with unaccompanied minors,” she said.

“The second thing we see is the taking away of legal services for unaccompanied kids to fight their cases and be able to get permanent status,” Molina Alt added, in reference to the Trump administration’s efforts to strip legal aid for these children — a move that’s been criticized by members of both parties.

“If the administration's ultimate aim is to safeguard unaccompanied children from trafficking and exploitation, the most important measure that it can and should take is to ensure legal and social services for as many unaccompanied children as possible,” Boyd said.

“In many cases, attorneys are an unaccompanied child's most critical line of defense against trafficking and exploitation and can actually help guide a child's cooperation with law enforcement officers in the detection and prosecution of human traffickers and other bad actors,” he added.

Boyd noted that a federal court issued a temporary restraining order against the termination of core legal services for unaccompanied children. Since then, the Trump administration has “made representations to the court that it is actively taking steps to achieve compliance with that order.” But, to date, funding and services have not been fully restored.

“Every day that goes by in which that funding is not restored, in which those services do not resume, is another day in which these children are at grave risk,” Boyd said.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.