In 2021, an influx of migrant children arrived at the U.S. border, and thousands were held in temporary shelters. The city of Long Beach reported 1,583 migrant children temporarily housed at the city's convention center, pictured here, were ultimately reunited with family members or sponsors.
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Topline:
Immigrant children’s defense groups say the Trump administration’s school-based “wellness checks” are a guise to potentially separate unaccompanied minors from their sponsors and ignite deportation proceedings.
The backstory: Last week, Department of Homeland Security agents tried to enter two elementary schools in South L.A., claiming they were there to do wellness checks on children who were unaccompanied when they crossed the border. School staff turned the agents away, but the encounters sowed fear among students and the surrounding community.
Who is responsible for the welfare of unaccompanied children? 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. Refugee Resettlement confirmed in an email to LAist that it places children in shelters until they can be connected to a “sponsor,” who is often a family member in the U.S. who can care for them while their immigration case is adjudicated.
Why it matters: 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's next: Advocates also point out that the administration cut back funds for legal services for unaccompanied children. A federal court issued a temporary restraining order, but the funding and services have not been fully restored. Members of Congress have also demanded answers from Homeland Security about its operations at LAUSD.
Read on ... to learn what advocates for children are seeing in their work.
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.
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What is a ‘wellness check’ and why is Homeland Security doing them at LAUSD schools?
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.”
Wellness checks are a cloak for immigration enforcement, [for] hunting down undocumented people in our communities and undoing reunifications that the government had previously approved.
— Gladis Molina Alt, executive director, Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
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.
Nothing that [the Trump] administration is doing under the guise of ‘wellness checks’ of unaccompanied minors is normal.
— Lilit Melkonyan, managing attorney, CARECEN’s deportation defense unit
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.
"Any visitor seeking to enter a school must have lawful business to be on campus."
— LAUSD spokesperson
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.
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.
Cesar Becerra Jr. happily receives a gift from church members at Rock of Salvation.
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Jonathan Olivares
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Boyle Heights Beat
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Topline:
If you’re looking to donate, volunteer or find ways to give back, we’ve rounded up a list to help you get started.
Why now: With the holiday season underway, organizations across Boyle Heights and East LA are seeking volunteers to help distribute food, assemble bicycles, sort toys and sponsor families in need.
Local food distributions: The Weingart East LA YMCA hosts a food distribution every Monday and Wednesday to ensure families have access to nutritious meals. Volunteers are needed for each food distribution from 8:45 a.m. to noon.
Read on ... for other ways to give back on the Eastside.
This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on Nov. 25.
With the holiday season underway, organizations across Boyle Heights and East LA are seeking volunteers to help distribute food, assemble bicycles, sort toys and sponsor families in need.
If you’re looking to donate, volunteer or find ways to give back, we’ve rounded up a list to help you get started.
Build bicycles and organize donations at a toy giveaway
The Weingart East LA YMCA is hosting its 19th Annual Toy Giveaway on Dec. 18, and volunteers are needed to help prepare toys and provide support. Before the event, volunteers can help by assembling bicycles and sorting and organizing toys on Dec. 17 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Volunteers are also needed to assist on event day from 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Weingart East LA YMCA hosts a food distribution every Monday and Wednesday to ensure families have access to nutritious meals. Volunteers are needed for each food distribution from 8:45 a.m. to noon.
Mercado al Aire Libre, which started earlier this month, provides families with free, fresh and seasonal produce on the first and second Wednesdays of every month at its farmers-market-style food distribution. The mercado takes place from 10 a.m. to noon on the first Wednesday of the month and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the second Wednesday. The next mercado will be on Dec. 3.
Address: Salesian Family Youth Center, 2228 E. Fourth St., Los Angeles
How to volunteer: Those interested in volunteering can reach out to Celene Rodriguez by phone at (323) 243-5758 or email at celene@visionycompromiso.org.
Drop off toys at First Street businesses
LAFC’s Expo Originals supporters group is collecting new, unwrapped toys and Venmo donations ahead of its annual community toy drive Dec. 14. Venmo contributions will go toward toy purchases, and the last day to donate is Dec. 6. Toys can be dropped off in person at the locations below until Dec. 13.
Proyecto Pastoral is collecting new jackets to keep its participants at the Guadalupe Homeless Shelter warm.
Where to donate: Jackets can be dropped off at the Proyecto Pastoral office located at 135 N. Mission Road from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sponsor a family, child or classroom ahead of the holidays
Proyecto Pastoral has many opportunities for the community to give back during its Holiday Drive this year. Those interested in fulfilling holiday wishes for a family, child or classroom have until Dec. 1 to register. Proyecto Pastoral will pair sponsors with community members in need to fulfill items from their wish list.
Individual toys also can be dropped off at Proyecto Pastoral’s office. The toys will be distributed to children who participate in Proyecto Pastoral’s youth programs at their end-of-year celebrations.
Makenna Sievertson
breaks down evolving policies and programs with a focus on the housing and homelessness challenges confronting some of SoCal's most vulnerable residents.
Published November 25, 2025 2:51 PM
California Attorney General Rob Bonta during a news conference Aug. 2.
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Myung J. Chun
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Greystar, which manages hundreds of properties in California, has agreed to pay $7 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company and other landlords used a price scheme to raise rents artificially high.
Background: In January, Greystar was named as a defendant in an antitrust lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the U.S. Department of Justice and several other states against software company RealPage, which officials say uses algorithmic models to recommend price increases to subscribers.
Bonta alleges that Greystar used RealPage’s system to coordinate rental prices with other landlords by illegally sharing and gathering confidential information. According to his office, RealPage’s “price alignment scheme” affected rentals across the country, especially in multifamily buildings in Southern California, including in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Bernardino.
The settlement: Bonta announced last week that, as part of the settlement, Greystar has agreed to stop using software that uses competitively sensitive information to set rent prices, including from RealPage.
The company has also agreed to cooperate in the federal prosecution of RealPage and the other landlords named as defendants, such as Camden and Willow Bridge.
Greystar statement: Greystar told LAist that it’s “pleased this matter is resolved,” and the company “remain[s] focused on serving our residents and clients.”
Go deeper ... for more information on the case.
Greystar, which manages hundreds of properties in California, has agreed to pay $7 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company and other landlords used a price scheme to raise rents artificially high.
In January, Greystar was named as a defendant in an antitrust lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the U.S. Department of Justice and several other states against software company RealPage, which officials say uses algorithmic models to recommend price increases to subscribers.
Bonta alleges Greystar used RealPage’s system to coordinate rental prices with other landlords by illegally sharing and gathering confidential information. According to his office, RealPage’s “price alignment scheme” affected rentals across the country, especially in multifamily buildings in Southern California, including in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Bernardino.
"Whether it's through smoke-filled backroom deals or through an algorithm on your computer screen, colluding to drive up prices is illegal,” Bonta said in a statement. “Companies that intentionally fuel this unaffordability by raising prices to line their own pockets can be sure I will use the full force of my office to hold them accountable.”
Details on the settlement
Greystar is the largest landlord in the U.S., according to the Department of Justice, managing nearly 950,000 rental units across the country. In California, the company manages about 333 multifamily rental properties that use RealPage’s pricing software, according to Bonta’s office.
Bonta announced last week that as part of the settlement, Greystar has agreed to stop using software that uses competitively sensitive information to set rent prices, including from RealPage.
The company also has agreed to cooperate in the federal prosecution of RealPage and the other landlords named as defendants, such as Camden and Willow Bridge.
Greystar said in a statement to LAist that it’s “pleased this matter is resolved” and the company “remain[s] focused on serving our residents and clients.”
Settlement with RealPage
The U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a proposed settlement with RealPage on Monday to resolve its claims against the company.
If the settlement is approved by the court, RealPage would be required to stop using competitors’ private, sensitive information to set rental prices and remove or redesign features in its software that limited price drops or aligned prices between competitors, according to the Justice Department.
RealPage also would be required to cooperate in the lawsuit against property management companies that have used its software and agree to a court-appointed monitor to make sure it complies with the proposed settlement.
Dirk Wakeham, president and CEO of RealPage, said in a statement Monday that the proposed resolution marks an important milestone for the company and its customers.
"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the DOJ, which brings the clarity and stability we have long sought and allows us to move forward with a continued focus on innovation and the shared goal of better outcomes for both housing providers and renters,” Wakeham said.
RealPage denies any wrongdoing, attorney Stephen Weissman said in a statement.
Kavish Harjai
writes about transportation policy in L.A.
Published November 25, 2025 2:29 PM
One of the appeals partially accepted stemmed from a road safety project the city completed on Hollywood Boulevard last year.
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Topline:
On Monday, Los Angeles officials considered claims that it did not install Measure HLA-mandated mobility upgrades where it should have. But the Board of Public Works rejected most of the claims, meaning the city maintains its position that it has been doing road work largely in accordance with Measure HLA. It was the first hearing of its kind since the city began accepting appeals this summer.
Measure HLA: The ordinance requires the city to install mobility upgrades, like bike lanes and pedestrian signal improvements, when it resurfaces at least one-eighth of a mile of certain streets throughout the city. As of August, L.A. city residents can file appeals claims to the Board of Public Works explaining why they think the city was not complying with Measure HLA. For more instructions and an explanation on that process, you can read LAist’s story here.
First round of appeals: The Board of Public Works partially sided with the appellant in one appeal and rejected the other six. Joe Linton, in his capacity as a resident and not as editor of Streetsblog L.A., filed all the appeals heard on Monday. “It’s the very first time, so we’re kind of throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks,” Linton told LAist. “Not a lot stuck.”
One appeal approved: Linton partially won his appeal claiming the city did not adequately install pedestrian improvements along a nearly half-mile portion of Hollywood Boulevard that it resurfaced last year. The city said it will publish an “appeals resolution plan” to fix sidewalks there within the next six months. “It was really obvious to me that the city’s justification … was not true, so I was glad that that was acknowledged,” Linton said.
Most rejected: In the other six appeals, the Board of Public Works agreed that the city’s work was properly exempted from Measure HLA because it only involved restriping the road. Linton had argued in those appeals that the city's work should have triggered Measure HLA because it involved reconfiguring lanes, modifying parking and adding new signage.
More appeals to be heard: The Board of Public Works on Monday will hear four additional appeals Linton filed.
Yusra Farzan
covers Orange County and its 34 cities, watching those long meetings — boards, councils and more — so you don’t have to.
Published November 25, 2025 2:19 PM
Newport Beach residents to decide on plan to build far fewer housing units in the city.
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Allen J. Schaben
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Los Angeles Times
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Topline:
Newport Beach voters will decide if they want to replace a state-approved housing plan with one that zones for far fewer new homes in 2026.
How we got here: Proponents of the plan called the Responsible Housing Initiative say the state-approved housing plan will negatively affect quality of life.
About the initiative: The initiative rejects the city’s current housing plan — which allows for more than 8,000 homes — and instead proposes just 2,900 homes exclusively for extremely low-, very low-, low- and moderate-income households.
The state-approved city plan: According to California law, Newport Beach needs to build 4,845 new units — 3,436 of which must be affordable for very low-, low- and moderate-income households.
Read on ... for more on next steps and tug-of-war over development plans.
Newport Beach voters will decide if they want to replace a state-approved housing plan with one that allows for far fewer new homes in 2026.
Proponents of the plan, called the Responsible Housing Initiative, say the current plan will make the city overcrowded and negatively affect quality of life.
“This isn’t downtown Los Angeles,” said Charles Klobe, president of Still Protecting Our Newport, which backs the Responsible Housing Initiative.
Last week, city leaders voted to put the initiative in front of voters after the Newport Beach Stewardship Association submitted the Responsible Housing Initiative petition with more than 8,000 signatures. The initiative rejects the city’s current housing plan and instead proposes an amendment to the general plan to facilitate the development of 2,900 homes exclusively for extremely low-, very low-, low- and moderate-income households.
The city’s current housing plan, which has the backing of the state, allows for more than 8,000 homes, including the required affordable housing units.
“ We're against the city building more market rate than the state required. We believe it's a giveaway to developers who will fund re-election campaigns of the council,” Klobe said.
What does California law require?
California’s Housing Element Law sets housing targets for local governments to meet, including for affordable units. It allows the state to intervene every eight years to let cities know how much housing they must plan for. The law also requires cities to put together a housing element showcasing how they will achieve the state’s plan. The state then approves of the element or sends it back to cities to reconfigure according to the requirements.
According to California law, Newport Beach needs to build 4,845 new units — 3,436 of which must be affordable for very low-, low- and moderate-income households. According to the city, Newport Beach can’t just plan for affordable housing units “because that would assume all future projects would be 100% affordable, which is not realistic based on previous development experiences.” And so, the city’s rezone plans include more than 8,000 units.
Councilmember Robyn Grant said during the council meeting that she’s not in favor of the state mandate. But, she added, “After extensive legal analysis and public outreach and workshops and hearings and meetings and more meetings, this council approved an updated general plan to bring Newport Beach into compliance and avoid serious penalties, including the loss of local land use control."
Newport Beach did appeal the state’s housing mandates on the grounds that it did not take into account how some of the city’s coastal lands are protected from urban development, but the appeal was rejected.
To learn more about how Newport Beach arrived at its state-approved housing plan, click here.
What is the Responsible Housing Initiative proposing?
The Responsible Housing Initiative counts the number of housing units already in development and proposes an additional 2,900 affordable housing units to meet the state mandate.
Klobe said they believe the initiative will receive state backing because “they claim to want affordable housing and our initiative requires it.”
Supporters of the measure contend the city’s current plan will increase the population, result in excessive traffic and disrupt the quality of life. They also sued Newport Beach for not first going to voters, but they failed in court.
To learn more about the Responsible Housing Initiative, click here.
What’s next
Voters will have a chance to weigh in on the Responsible Housing Initiative in November 2026.
