The Brief

They speak Farsi, Cantonese, Spanish and at least two dozen other languages. Some earned master's degrees in their home countries, while others never finished middle school. At California's community colleges, more than 290,000 students take free, non-credit English as a Second Language classes.

As immigrants, many of these students enroll in the classes to integrate into American life, advance in their jobs, support their children or build community. The classes have grown in popularity in recent years — an enrollment bright spot for the state’s community college system, which has struggled to fully rebound to pre-pandemic student counts.

But as news of international student visa revocations and reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids during President Donald Trump’s second term spread across the state, many community colleges have seen some of these students switch to online learning, or stop showing up to class altogether.

So far there’s no statewide data on 2025 enrollment in non-credit ESL courses at California’s community colleges. But several anecdotes from professors and enrollment numbers from individual community colleges paint a similar picture: A heightened fear of ICE is driving students away. In the San Fernando Valley, one professor has lost about 15% of her enrollment this semester. In San Marcos, several classrooms abruptly transitioned from mostly in-person instruction to walls of Zoom squares.

As the semester goes on, ESL professors are offering “Know Your Rights” cards to students and informing their classes of the community college system’s pledge to not participate in federal immigration enforcement efforts. They’re also continuing to connect their students with campus resources such as food pantries and tutoring centers.

ESL classes have expanded post-pandemic

Los Angeles Pierce College began offering non-credit ESL in 2021, and last year the college hired a full-time professor to boost the program. Enrollment in the classes skyrocketed from about 50 in 2021 to more than 350 in 2024. Dennis Solares, the adult education coordinator at Los Angeles Pierce College, said that students seeking to improve their job opportunities drove the recent ESL enrollment growth.

“We offer an opportunity that can help them communicate more, get acclimated with the community and get better jobs,” Solares said.

The classes attract a diverse swath of students. Azucena Hernandez, 42, enrolled in ESL at Palomar College in San Marcos so that she could better support her three kids with day-to-day tasks. She started as a monolingual Spanish speaker, but after several semesters she can comfortably have conversations in English.

Hernandez now volunteers in the beginner levels of ESL as a peer instructor. She said her most important takeaway from these courses is “the family made at school.”

“Every day we are learning something new, and there is companionship,” Hernandez said. “We are united to learn.”

Students in one of Professor Rachel Cerdenio’s non-credit English as a Second Language classes at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills on May 8, 2025. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters

Hernandez’s professor, Sheri Cully, has taught ESL for more than 40 years. She prioritizes civic engagement and real-world learning in her classes. One long-term project that her students work on is maintaining a community garden and advocating for its affordability and accessibility at local government meetings. Cully said she admires her students’ work ethic and resilience.

There were 30,000 more students enrolled in non-credit ESL courses across California’s community colleges during the 2023-24 academic year compared to the 2018-19 academic year, according to state data. The growth has been driven by several factors, including heightened demand for workforce training as the state’s economy expands and the college system's push to expand ESL after the pandemic, according to a written statement to CalMatters from the California community college system’s chancellor’s office.

ESL courses bring state funding to community colleges based partially on enrollment, so several colleges have been working to continue this expansion after enrollment dropped during the pandemic. But student fears about immigration enforcement may thwart those efforts.

Fears of ICE entering schools

An estimated 100,000 college students live in California without permanent legal status, and 3.3 million Californians live in mixed-status households, according to data from Equity Research Institute, a USC research group. Some of these students question whether coming to class is worth the risk of entering a public campus where ICE has access, and they have opted to take courses virtually. But not all students have access to a computer or Wi-Fi at home, and some older students may not be comfortable with the technology required for college courses.

Jessica Buchsbaum, the ESL department chair at City College of San Francisco, oversees a program serving about 6,000 students, ranging from teenagers to octogenarians. She said the non-credit ESL enrollment was “growing intensely in the fall semester, but it has now softened.”

“We’ve definitely heard that students may be afraid to come to school,” Buchsbaum said. “In an environment when there’s so much hate directed at immigrants, we are here to serve this population. These are people who bring incredible energy and hope to our communities.”

On campus at Pierce College. (Photo courtesy of Pierce College/Facebook)

In January, the Trump administration threw out policies implemented in 2011 that limited the ability of ICE agents to arrest people at churches, schools and other areas designated as “sensitive locations.” A statement from the Department of Homeland Security said the change was necessary so “criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.”

California’s community colleges are public campuses, meaning they are limited by federal laws from attempting to prevent ICE agents from coming onto or near spaces that are generally considered open.

Over the years, the California community college system has supported immigrant students, such as offering Dream Resource Centers and connecting students with nonprofit legal services. The system has pointed college administrators to a 2017 state law that prohibits campus police departments from “generally providing personal information… about an individual for immigration enforcement purposes, including, but not limited to, the individual’s home address or work address, unless that information is available to the public.”

The chancellor’s office refused an interview request from CalMatters for this story. In a written statement, the office said, “The mission of the California Community Colleges is to educate and provide social and economic mobility to all Californians seeking to improve their workforce and workplace skills as well as improve their English language literacy.”

ESL professors provide support and students keep learning

Rachel Cerdenio is an ESL professor at Los Angeles Pierce College and the daughter of immigrants from the Philippines. She said the years she spent watching her parents struggle to navigate life in the United States without strong English skills spurred her to teach ESL.

Professor Rachel Cerdenio teaches a non-credit English as a Second Language class at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills on May 8, 2025.

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Jules Hotz

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CalMatters

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For Cerdenio’s intermediate courses, she created a curriculum focused on connection to the college and student success. She recently assigned students to visit a campus resource like the student health center or the library, ask questions about it and share the information with their classmates.

“I wish my parents had the experiences that I am giving my students now,” Cerdenio said. “I want them to succeed, and I want them to be part of the campus and know about the resources that are here.”

Solares has given presentations in adult education courses, including Cerdenio’s classes, about immigrant students’ rights and the resources available to students, regardless of their immigration status.

“We had a huge influx of students, but with the change in politics students are naturally scared, and so there's students who choose not to come to classes anymore,” Solares said. “The vibe is more tense. It’s more scary. But we support the students, and we equip the professors to support their students.”

Delilah Brumer is a fellow 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.

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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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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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.