The Home Depot logo is displayed outside a store in Los Angeles where immigration agents arrested day laborers after jumping out of a rental moving truck.
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Patrick T. Fallon
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AFP via Getty Images
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Topline:
If there's a company most caught up in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, it's Home Depot, after numerous raids near stores around Los Angeles and the country. But the home-improvement giant has largely stayed quiet.
The context: During Tuesday's earnings call with Wall Street analysts, executives said nothing — and received no questions about — immigration raids or day laborers. Last week, after a man died as he ran from one of the raids onto a freeway and was struck by a car, Home Depot representatives did not respond to NPR's inquiry on the death.
What the company has said: Earlier in the month, Home Depot replied to questions about the company's position on raids and interaction with federal authorities with a statement it has issued repeatedly: "We ask associates to report any suspected immigration enforcement operations immediately and not to engage for their own safety," the statement reads, in part. "We aren't notified that immigration enforcement activities are going to happen, and we aren't involved in them. In many cases, we don't know that arrests have taken place until after they're over. We're required to follow all federal and local rules and regulations in every market where we operate."
What the government says: In a statement to NPR, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also said Home Depot has no role in their operations and businesses don't get notified in advance of enforcement actions.
Read on ... for more on the history of day laborers at Home Depot and frustration among activists over the company's hands-off response to the recent wave of immigration enforcement.
Ray Hudson arrived at his local Home Depot in Los Angeles preparing for a move. He picked up plastic crates. Usually, he would also hire help — one of the men who tend to gather nearby looking for work. But they weren't there.
Earlier that day, on Aug. 6, federal agents in tactical gear sprung out of a rented moving truck, going after day laborers and food sellers in an immigration raid. Hudson heard about it on the news.
"It's just not right," Hudson said. "They're out here trying to make an honest living. They're not hurting nobody; they're not bothering nobody."
If there's a company most caught up in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, it's Home Depot, after numerous raids near stores around Los Angeles and the country. But the home-improvement giant has largely stayed quiet.
During Tuesday's earnings call with Wall Street analysts, executives said nothing — and received no questions about — immigration raids or day laborers. Last week, after a man died as he ran from one of the raids onto a freeway and was struck by a car, Home Depot representatives did not respond to NPR's inquiry on the death. Earlier in the month, Home Depot replied to questions about the company's position on raids and interaction with federal authorities with a statement it has issued repeatedly:
"We ask associates to report any suspected immigration enforcement operations immediately and not to engage for their own safety," the statement reads, in part. "We aren't notified that immigration enforcement activities are going to happen, and we aren't involved in them. In many cases, we don't know that arrests have taken place until after they're over. We're required to follow all federal and local rules and regulations in every market where we operate."
Home Depot's hands-off response frustrates Chris Newman. He advocates for day laborer rights as the legal director of the National Day Labor Organizing Network.
"I sympathize with the fact that they are now ground zero for a big polarizing political and cultural issue," Newman told NPR earlier this month. "However, I think that they have a responsibility and certainly a moral obligation to defend day laborers, who are both customers and service the stores where they seek work."
In a statement to NPR, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also said Home Depot has no role in their operations and businesses don't get notified in advance of enforcement actions.
A wreath for the late Carlos Roberto Montoya, a 52-year-old man from Guatemala, is placed in the parking lot of Home Depot in Monrovia, Calif. Montoya died after being hit by a car on the freeway as he was fleeing from an immigration raid outside the store.
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VCG/VCG via Getty Images
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Visual China Group
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Day laborer sites sprung up as Home Depot grew
Home Depot does not have a formal relationship with day laborers, but their history runs deep.
"Much of Home Depot's success has led to the conditions that we see in the industry today and why contractors turn to day laborers so often," said Nik Theodore, a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago who's one of the top researchers on day laborers.
Before the 1990s, when the retailer grew into the biggest home improvement chain, contracting crews tried to keep their costs lower than their rivals by shopping for supplies at different wholesalers. But now, everyone pays the same prices at Home Depot. That's made the cost of labor a key way for a contractor to get the edge over competitors.
Add in the chronic worker shortage in construction, and day laborers became a particularly convenient and cheap solution: an on-demand workforce right outside the store.
"The construction industry is highly volatile and the need for on-call labor remains high," Theodore said. "And the immigrants are filling that shortage."
Roughly half of Home Depot's sales are now to professional contractors, who might need quick help with demolition, construction or cleanup.
The other type of customer at Home Depot was, in many ways, created by the chain: The retailer early on began teaching home owners to DIY and skip the contractor. Those shoppers now hire day laborers, too, for quick repairs or landscaping.
"In general, day laborers love Home Depot, and Home Depot's bottom line loves day laborers," said Newman.
A bystander films an immigration agent during an operation outside a Home Depot in Los Angeles on Aug. 15.
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Gregory Bull
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AP
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Raids haven't had any clear impact on sales so far
Home Depot has said that day laborers are not part of its business model. Wall Street analysts say they're not a huge customer base, and people who hire them would shop at the chain even if day laborers weren't nearby.
Investors so far have shrugged off the immigration spotlight on the company. Home Depot's stock price is at its highest since February.
"I don't think that it's had any impact really on their sales," said Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joe Feldman, speaking earlier this month. "There's nothing to say from Home Depot's standpoint in the sense that Home Depot doesn't hire [day laborers] — doesn't have a network to try to help them get hired — they just happen to show up at Home Depot's doorstep."
On Tuesday, Home Depot reported its U.S. sales grew 1.4% between early May and early August, a tepid result that nonetheless surpassed the previous quarter notably. Homeowners have continued to delay major projects out of worry about the economy and tariffs, but appear to be doing more smaller projects.
The company has also stuck to a neutral tone on President Trump's tariffs. After Trump publicly shamed Walmart in May for warning that tariffs would lead to higher prices, Home Depot said it didn't expect "broad-based" price increases, though some products might disappear from shelves. On Tuesday, executives flagged possible "modest" price hikes for some imported products.
Critics, meanwhile, often zero in on the company's perceived politics: Two of the company's three founders have supported Trump. But those men have not run Home Depot for about 20 years, and one of them died last year. The retailer donates to both political parties.
On Reddit, Home Depot workers have begun trading tales of raid impacts: Some claim fewer contractors are visiting and stores are struggling tomeet sales goals; others say it's business as usual and sales are booming.
Back at the Los Angeles Home Depot a few hours after that raid with the rental truck, shopper Margarita Ochoa pointed out one change.
"This parking lot is always full," she said. "Right now, there is like so many spaces."
Ochoa runs a housekeeping business and usually sends her employees to stock up on cleaning supplies or liquids for her pressure washer. But today, for the first time in a while, Ochoa is at the Home Depot.
"Because they're afraid to come," she said, "They're afraid to be here."
Ochoa said she hopes Home Depot will speak out more against the raids and also do more, perhaps by protecting people who run inside by closing the doors to immigration agents.
She was thinking of taking her business elsewhere, she said. But this Home Depot is still the most convenient to get her supplies — and it has been her store for 33 years.
What we know: The city is in the very early stages of planning how to transform the 192 acres into a park. The preliminary report shows some potential amenities of the park, such as gardens, biking trails, art galleries, a community center and much more.
Background: After a long legal battle between the city and the Federal Aviation Administration, a settlement was reached that ruled that the city could close the more than 100-year-old airport. The park was controversial among residents because of air quality and noise concerns, and was the subject of many legal battles in recent decades.
What’s next? The city wants to hear from residents. You’re encouraged to review the framework and fill out this survey. Feedback will be accepted until April 26.
Elly Yu
typically reports on early childhood issues and from time to time other general news.
Published April 1, 2026 1:41 PM
Thousands of immigrants, including refugees and asylees, in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
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Brandon Bell
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
What’s new: The changes apply to certain immigrants who are here lawfully, including refugees and asylees. It also applies to people from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special visas for helping the U.S. military overseas.
Why now: The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — that Congress passed last year.
What’s next: Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.
Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — that Congress passed last year.
The changes remove eligibility for certain noncitizens, including people with refugee status and victims of trafficking. It also applies to immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special immigrant visas for helping the U.S. government overseas.
”These are folks…many of whom have large families that we have a commitment to as a country because we welcomed them and invited them here to find a place of refuge,” said Cambria Tortorelli, president of the International Institute of Los Angeles, a refugee resettlement agency. “They’re authorized to work and they’ve been brought here by the U.S. government.”
The federal spending bill, H.R. 1, made sweeping cuts to social safety net programs, including food assistance and Medicaid. In signing the bill, President Donald Trump said the changes were delivering on his campaign promises of “America first.”
Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. The state estimates about 72,000 immigrants with lawful presence will be affected across California.
CalFresh is the state’s version of the federally-funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Undocumented immigrants have not been eligible to receive CalFresh benefits.
State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.
Who the changes apply to:
Asylees
Refugees
Parolees (unless they are Cuban and Haitian Entrants)
Individuals with deportation or removal withheld
Conditional entrants
Victims of trafficking
Battered noncitizens
Iraqi or Afghan with Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) who are not Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)
Certain Afghan Nationals granted parole between July 31, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023
Certain Ukrainian Nationals granted parole between Feb. 24, 2022, and Sep. 30, 2024
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Nearly every student in the California State University system has used artificial intelligence tools, but most don’t trust the results, are worried about how AI will affect their future job security and want more say in systemwide AI policy.
CSU AI survey: CSU polled more than 94,000 students, faculty and staff, making it the largest survey of AI perception in higher education. Nearly all students have used AI but most question whether it is trustworthy. Both faculty and students want more say in systemwide AI policies. Faculty are divided about the impact of AI on teaching and research.
The results: Educators want a say in how and which AI tools are used. Students across the CSU system want to be included in those discussions. Some professors teach students how to use AI and encourage students to use it, while others forbid its use in the classroom. In addition to clarity around use of AI policies, students in this year’s survey said they want training that will be relevant to their careers. “I want to learn AI tools that are actually used in my industry, not just generic chatbots,” a mechanical engineering student responded. “Show me what engineers are actually doing with AI on the job.”
Nearly every student in the California State University system has used artificial intelligence tools, but most don’t trust the results, are worried about how AI will affect their future job security and want more say in systemwide AI policy.
That’s according to results of a 2025 survey of more than 80,000 students enrolled at CSU’s 22 campuses, plus faculty and staff — the largest and most comprehensive study of how higher education students and instructors perceive artificial intelligence.
Nationwide, university faculty struggle to reconcile the learning benefits of AI — hailed as a “transformative tool” for providing tutoring and personalized support to students — and the risks that students will depend on AI agents to do their thinking for them and, very possibly, get the wrong information. Educators want a say in how and which AI tools are used. Students across the CSU system want to be included in those discussions.
Some professors teach students how to use AI and encourage students to use it, while others forbid its use in the classroom, said Katie Karroum, vice president of systemwide affairs for the Cal State Student Association, representing more than 470,000 students.
“Both of these things are allowed to coexist right now without a policy,” she said.
Karroum said that faculty practices are too varied and that what students need are consistent and transparent rules developed in collaboration with students. “There are going to be students who are graduating with AI literacy and some that graduate without AI literacy.”
In February 2025, the CSU system announced an initiative to adopt AI technologies and an agreement with OpenAI to make ChatGPT available throughout the system. The system-wide survey released Wednesday confirms that ChatGPT is the most used AI tool across CSUs. The system will also work with Adobe, Google, IBM, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft and NVIDIA.
Campus leaders say the survey and accompanying dashboard provide much needed data on how the system continues to integrate AI into instruction and assessment.
“We need to have data to make data-informed decisions instead of just going by anecdote,” said Elisa Sobo, a professor of anthropology at San Diego State who was involved in interpreting the survey’s findings. “We have data that show high use, but we also have high levels of concern, very valid concern, to help people be responsible when they use it.”
Faculty at San Diego State designed the survey, which received more than 94,000 responses from students, faculty and staff. Among all responding CSU students, 95% reported using an AI tool; 84% said they used ChatGPT and 82% worry that AI will negatively impact their future job security. Others worry that they won’t be competitive if they don’t understand AI well enough.
“Even though I don’t want to use it, I HAVE TO!” wrote a computer science major. “Because if I don’t, then I’ll be left behind, and that is the last thing someone would want in this stupid job market.”
Faculty are divided about the impact of AI on teaching and research. Just over 55% reported a positive benefit, while 52% said AI has had a negative impact so far.
San Diego State conducted its first campuswide survey in 2023 in response to complaints from students about inconsistent rules about AI use in courses, said James Frazee, vice president for information technology at the campus.
“Students are facing this patchwork of expectations even within the same course taught by different instructors,” Frazee said. In one introductory course, the professor might encourage students to use AI, but another professor teaching the same course might forbid it, he said. “It was a hot mess.”
In that 2023 survey, one student made this request: “Please just tell us what to do and be clear about it.”
Following that survey, the San Diego State Academic Senate approved guidelines for the use of generative AI in instruction and assessments. In 2025, the Senate made it mandatory that faculty include language about AI use in course syllabi.
“It doesn’t say what your disposition has to be, whether it’s pro or con,” Frazee said. “It just says you have to be clear about your expectations. Without the 2023 survey data, that never would have happened.”
According to the 2025 systemwide survey, only 68% of teaching faculty include language about AI use in their syllabi.
Sobo and other faculty who helped develop the 2025 survey hope other CSU campuses will find the data helpful in informing policies about AI use. The dashboard allows users to search for specific campus and discipline data and view student responses by demographic group.
The 2025 survey shows that first-generation students are more interested in formal AI training and that Black, Hispanic and Latino students are more interested than white students. At San Diego State, students are required to earn a micro-credential in AI use during their first year — another change that was made after the 2023 survey.
Students in this year’s survey said they want training that will be relevant to their careers. “I want to learn AI tools that are actually used in my industry, not just generic chatbots,” a mechanical engineering student responded. “Show me what engineers are actually doing with AI on the job.”
The California Faculty Association, which represents about 29,000 educators in the CSU system, said in a February statement that faculty should be included in future systemwide decisions about AI, including whether the contract with OpenAI should be renewed in July.
“CFA members continue to advocate for ethical and enforceable safeguards governing the use of artificial intelligence,” the CFA said in the statement, asking for “protections for using or refusing to use the technology, professional development resources to adapt pedagogy to incorporate the technology, and further protections for faculty intellectual property.”
EdSource is an independent nonprofit organization that provides analysis on key education issues facing California and the nation. LAist republishes articles from EdSource with permission.
Fiona Ng
is LAist's deputy managing editor and leads a team of reporters who explore food, culture, history, events and more.
Published April 1, 2026 12:00 PM
Tennis courts featured in an April Fools' Day social media post by Irvine.
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City of Irvine / Instagram
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Topline:
Many Southern California cities and institutions are dropping big, grabby news today — from the city of Irvine going "pickle-ball" only, to the Huntington Botanical Gardens announcing it'll be bottling the scent of the famed corpse flower as a perfume.
Why now: Before you go "what the what" — remember today's the first day of April.
Read on ... to find a roundup of some of the April Fools' jokes from your city and local trusted institutions.
Many Southern California cities and institutions are dropping big, grabby news today. Before you go "what the what" — remember, it's the first day of April.
Here's a roundup of some of the April Fools' news dump items.
Irvine, the 'pickleball-only' city
Irvine announced that it'll be converting all tennis courts into pickleball courts by 2027. That's one notch for Team Pickleball in the ongoing turf war between tennis lovers and pickleball players over the fight for court space to engage in their beloved sport.
"Starting today, April 1, all tennis courts are being converted to pickleball courts as part of a citywide effort to make Irvine a pickleball-only City by 2027," the post stated. "We don’t just think this is a good idea … we dink it’s a great one."
Over in Long Beach, Mayor Rex Richardson announced the city's reigning royalty, the Queen Mary, will be renamed after another queen.
"After careful consideration, I am proud to announce that the Queen Mary will officially be renamed the RMS Queen Latifah," he said. "Long Beach is stepping into a new era as a major music destination — with a new amphitheater, a deep cultural legacy, and a future built on sound. It’s only right that our most iconic Queen reflects that energy."
In real-real news, LBC native and everyone's favorite Olympics commenter Snoop Dogg is headlining the grand opening show of the Long Beach Amphitheater in June. That's the new waterfront venue near the RMS Queen Latifah.
Suspense writer James Patterson has more than 200 novels to his name, selling more than 450 million copies. If anyone deserves his own namesake branch, it would be Patterson, no?
The Los Angeles Public Library certainly dinks so, announcing today the James Patterson Canoga Park branch, "with wall to wall Patterson books and programming centered around this prolific author."
The opening of the corpse flower has become an annual event at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. The event brings legions hoping to get a whiff of the famed flower's "pungent aroma."
The San Marino institution announced that it's bottling the scent, as part of its new "The Huntington's Stank Collection."
"A musky gym sock note opens this unique fragrance, with a sweet, rotten-egg base to ground it. Smells like you – but smellier," the post explained.
