The Brief

In recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security has taken action against lawful permanent residents and visa holders at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Tufts, and the University of Alabama. Federal officials say the crackdown will continue.

That's a source of concern for dozens of Southern California students and faculty who were suspended or arrested during Gaza solidarity encampments and protests in spring 2024.

At UC Irvine, “the time, place and manner restrictions have been broadcast and emphasized,” said Brook Haley, a humanities lecturer who was arrested last spring and charged with a misdemeanor for “failure to disperse at [the] scene of [a] riot.” As a U.S. citizen and faculty member, he believes he’s in “less precarious a position” than his international colleagues and undergraduate students, who have yet to launch their careers.

Haley said he senses “a chill” on campus, “not just for Palestinian rights, but [for] anything that might draw the attention of an administrator.”

“They've seen what happened to demonstrators at the encampment. They see the messages coming from the federal government,” he added. “People have realized that they need to spend a little time reflecting on the best forms of advocacy, in terms of safety for everyone involved and finding the best venues and the best ways to make those views known to as many people as possible.”

Bracing for more detentions 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that he’s signed more than 300 letters revoking the visas of students and other visitors because of their foreign policy views or criminal activities, and that he will continue to do so.

“If we knew this information about them before we gave them a visa, would we have allowed them in?” Rubio said Friday. “And if the answer is no, then we revoke the visa.”

Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident who recently completed graduate studies at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, served as a negotiator between the administration and a coalition of student groups opposed to Israel’s war effort. When immigration agents arrested Khalil in campus housing earlier this month, they were dressed in plain clothes and used unmarked vehicles to take him away. His detention has struck fear among campus activists across the country, particularly among international students.

A handful of students declined to be interviewed for this story, citing concerns for their personal safety and academic repercussions.

“One thing that is sometimes lost through the general aura of fear is that we have a system of checks and balances,” said Dina Chehata, civil rights managing attorney at the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Los Angeles chapter. The Trump administration, she added, “is sort of throwing everything [against] the wall and seeing what sticks. But we do have resources and mechanisms by which to challenge what is happening.”

Mark Gradoni, a doctoral candidate in UCI’s history department, was also arrested and charged with a misdemeanor last year. He said being a U.S. citizen and a “loud white guy” grants him a “level of safety that [his] international colleagues just don't have.”

Mark Gradoni, a graduate student at UC Irvine, teaches a world history class for undergraduate students.

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Julia Barajas

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LAist

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Gradoni also believes the Trump administration’s fixation on noncitizens is meant to cast the Gaza solidarity protests as “foreign” to the U.S.

“It's very concerning and frightening — but not unexpected — that [the federal government] would turn its attention on the most vulnerable elements of the pro-Palestinian coalition,” he said.

Malik Alrefai is a fourth-year political science major at UCI. He’s also the Chicago-born grandson of a Palestinian refugee. Alrefai is set to graduate this spring. “Assuming the administration doesn't block me,” he said. (At Columbia, some student protesters who occupied a building had their degrees temporarily revoked.)

Like Haley and Gradoni, Alrefai was detained and charged with a misdemeanor. He joined the encampment in part because of his personal connection to the cause, he told LAist, but also because he believes it’s vital to speak up when anyone is being hurt.

When it comes to future activism, the Orange County district attorney’s charge against him “definitely made me more wary and more cautious,” he said. “The reality is, were I to get detained again, I would likely find it escalated from a misdemeanor to a felony.”

Finding community in the road ahead

When Alrefai thinks about how to move forward, he recalls the day of his arrest. When he and the others were released, he told LAist, it was well past midnight, and they were all tired after spending hours in handcuffs. They were also hungry and dehydrated.

But “when we got out,” he added, “people were there, waiting for us.” Alrefai and the other arrestees were given food and water, then taken to speak with legal experts. “The community showed up for us,” he said.

Since then, Alrefai has noticed students have found new ways to support their fellow protesters. One student, who’s a U.S. citizen, is using social media “to ensure that others who are not in the same position are aware of where ICE agents are,” he said. When UCI arrestees have court dates, Haley added, “about a dozen of us show up, to support one another.”

Despite the Trump administration’s crackdown on campus activism, protests at colleges in Greater L.A. have continued. Earlier this month, for instance, the Irvine Faculty Association held a rally outside the university’s administration building. Haley said some 70 people came out to hear faculty members speak out against Khalil’s arrest.

At UCLA, students and faculty gathered outside a regents meeting to call for divestment from companies associated with the Israeli military, as well as for Khalil’s release.

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.