The Brief

[Editor's note: this week we officially launch a new beat, Digital Equity, covered by reporter Nereida Moreno]

Bell resident Ricardo Gonzalez stops by his local public library at least once a week to use the computers. He's unemployed, and without a steady paycheck, he can’t afford a computer or WiFi at home.

Instead, he uses his cell phone to go online, but that’s less than ideal, especially for streaming video or larger files.

“With a phone sometimes it’s unreliable … it crashes too. There’s nothing like using an actual computer,” he said.

Gonzalez is one of hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles County residents impacted by what’s known as the “digital divide.” That’s the gap between people who have access to the internet, computers and other digital devices — as well as the technical and online safety skills to use them — and those who don’t.

The divide became more starkly apparent during the pandemic. Those who could moved much of their lives online; many others were shut out.

The issue disproportionately hurts Black and Latino communities, but also the larger digital economy and the future of Southern California as a region.

Digital equity advocates say the internet is essential for modern living and should be treated as a human and civil right — a public utility along with electricity, gas and water.

They're calling it “the issue of the decade.”

The numbers

In L.A County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau:

• 161,000 households lack internet service.
• 114,000 households don’t have computers.
• 300,000 households are considered “underconnected” because they can only access the internet through their cell phone.

The solutions

Digital equity advocates say the gap stems from widespread underinvestment in broadband infrastructure in low-income communities, a practice they call “digital redlining.” To remedy this, there are now several government programs in the works:

Affordable Connectivity Program

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) helps low-income households get services at a lower rate. 2.8 million Californians were enrolled in the program as of Christmas Day. Its other highlights include:

• Provides a monthly $30 discount on internet services
• Up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands
• One-time $100 discount to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or tablet

Fill out an online application to see if you’re eligible.

FCC's Lifeline program

The Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline program also gives low-income residents a monthly discount on phone and internet services.

• Provides a $9.25 monthly discount on either cable or wireless services
• Up to $34.25 per month on tribal lands
• You can apply online, by mail or in person
• Learn if you’re eligible here

If you would like an application mailed to you, contact (800) 234-9473 or email LifelineSupport@usac.org. Most residents use California's application process to apply for both the federal and state Lifeline program.

California's Broadband For All

In 2021, the Newsom administration began rolling out its ambitious Broadband for All plan.

• $6 billion state and federal investment 
• More than $3 billion to build a 10,000-mile high-speed backbone network to carry data over long distances throughout the state
• 18 initial projects, including South and Southeast L.A.
• Could bring down internet prices for everyone by increasing competition

Here’s a map of the planned network.

California LifeLine program

The state also has its own LifeLine program to help low-income residents lower the cost of their monthly phone bills.

• You can get a discount on a home phone or a cell phone, but not both
• Up to $19 off your monthly bill, plus a $39 service connection discount
• Only one discount per household

Check if you’re eligible and then contact your service provider. Here’s a list of approved companies that partner with LifeLine.

L.A. County's Delete the Divide

L.A. County's Internal Services Department launched the Delete the Divide initiative in 2021 to reach communities where more than 20% of households lack internet service. Eligible residents get access to free online training courses and IT certificates, as well as job opportunities and tech support.

• 1,800 free laptops were given away in 2023, plus 1,000 devices for veterans
• 7,500 free laptops to be given away in 2024 (details to be released later in the year)

Also in the works — a new "Community Broadband Network" could provide free or low-cost Wi-Fi to about eligible 200,000 households and businesses.

• Will start in South L.A., East L.A. and Boyle Heights
• Service could be available by the end of the year

L.A. city

In 2022. the Digital Equity LA (DELA) coalition partnered with the California Community Foundation to document “troubling pricing practices” by the nation’s largest internet service providers.

The report found a “clear and consistent pattern” of low-income communities being advertised higher prices for slower service than their wealthier neighbors.

Digital discrimination

Advocates are also pushing for the city to adopt a legal definition of “digital discrimination” to hold internet companies accountable for discriminatory practices through a new motion in the city council. If approved, the city would be tasked with analyzing discrimination complaints, including demographic information and reporting annually on any potential trends

(The FCC recently adopted new federal rules to stop broadband providers from discriminating against customers based on race, income and other protected traits. The order defined digital discrimination to include both unequal treatment and disparate effects for protected groups. L.A. is expected to adopt similar language.)

Looking ahead

2024 could be a pivotal year in the fight to close the digital divide, with billions of public dollars on the line. The state is finalizing plans to build its new “middle-mile network,” a mix of construction projects and existing infrastructure, as well as “last-mile” projects to physically bring the internet into unserved homes and businesses.

So far, the state has spent $1.8 billion on various lease, purchase and joint-build agreements with private sector companies, nonprofits and government organizations, according to the nonprofit newsroom CalMatters.

In a cozy dance studio in Garden Grove, dancers of all experience levels, ages and backgrounds flock to Queer Latin Dance OC to learn the steps to salsa, cumbia and bachata.

For many, the dance class is more than educational — it’s a place to get away from it all, to find community and to uplift one another through art.

When Rodrigo Marquez founded Queer Latin Dance OC at the beginning of this year, he said he was filling a gap in Orange County that often lacks safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.

“I wanted to make creative communities for us to learn in a safe environment,” Marquez said. “Everyone's here to learn, and I want the pressure of whatever's going on in the world, just to forget for the next hour.”

Queer Latin Dance OC meets three times a week to learn the steps to salsa, cumbia and bachata.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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What are the dance lessons like? 

When creating his teaching plan, Marquez said he considers the range of experience his students might have. Everybody starts somewhere, he added, and the hardest part is showing up.

“It is scary, but if you're already showing up, then just jump in and just forget about the world. It's a great distraction, and dancing makes you feel better,” Marquez said.

Philip Lee, an elementary school teacher from Tustin, took his first class with the group Monday night, trying the quick steps of salsa.

“I had a stressful day. … All my stress that I had in my neck and upper back just kind of went away,” Lee said, adding that the high energy in the room is infectious. “It was nice just laughing with people in the community and meeting new people.”

Lee said the dance lesson gave him a space to be with community.

“The queer community specifically, and just kind of let my guard down and just be free and laugh and enjoy being me and celebrated for a love for the arts,” Lee said. “That's not a space that is always safe.”

Before taking lessons at Queer Latin Dance OC, Melba Rivera said she came in with zero dance experience.

“You come as you are. No matter what level you're at or how you identify or what your experience is, everybody's here and everybody's learning,” Rivera said. “It's a very encouraging and motivating space.”

Salsa and bachata are social dances, Marquez said, but one thing that makes his class unique to many is that regardless of gender identity, anyone can follow or lead.

Typically, the lead falls to the male dancer, and women follow. Marquez said it was important that no one feels pressured to be one or the other.

“That's why I created this, so people like me can just come and learn, not be expected to be in a gender role based on how they look,” Marquez said. “They want to dance how they feel.”

Why it matters

Taryn Heiner said, especially in Orange County, it’s challenging to find spaces that are queer-friendly and queer-open.

“That's really what makes this space so kind and warm and welcoming,” Heiner said. “We have all that base understanding of respecting one another, no matter who they are, who they love and what they do.”

Growing up in Orange County, not every room you walk into is a safe space, Rivera added.

“So walking into a room like this, where everybody's friendly, everybody's learning, everybody's just here for the same purpose to get better, to support each other, is really important,” Rivera said. “Not just in the class, but [in] the friendships we make outside of the classroom.”

Outside of dance class, Marquez’s students meet up for monthly hikes and other get-togethers. Marquez said it is a privilege and an honor to bring people together through his love for dance.

“I've seen people become friends since January, and I see them practice outside of practice,” Marquez said. “I've always had a dream to do my own dance classes, but to do it in a way where people can connect and just be themselves. It's far greater than that.”

Queer Latin Dance OC offers lessons to dancers of all experience levels and has created a new community hub in Orange County.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Want to dance? 

Salsa, cumbia and bachata classes are held three nights a week on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Classes are $20 per session, but Marquez also offers a free beginner salsa class every Monday.

You can register for the class of your choice here. Payments are taken in person.

Border Patrol agents have been roving from city to city over the last 15 months, far from their home bases in California and elsewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border, engaged in an unprecedented mass deportation campaign.

A collaboration between CalMatters, Evident Media and Bellingcat has tracked these agents, documenting their tactics on the ground and through mountains of video footage, since their first proof-of-concept raid in Bakersfield in January 2025.

Exactly one year later, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renée Good in Minneapolis, followed weeks later by the killing of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent.

Our investigation shows that beyond those two shootings, immigration agents engaged in a pattern of force and questionable detention, aggressive tactics that courts have said likely violated the Constitution, as they moved from Bakersfield to Los Angeles, and then Chicago and Minneapolis.

In each city, federal courts stepped in to restrain them from violating civil liberties in that jurisdiction. Agents later deployed to another city. The video evidence suggests agents’ tactics became more brazen with each stop.

Under President Donald Trump, immigration agents have operated without typical public accountability. Many agents wear masks. Incident reports are largely hidden from the public.

“We are in a completely uncharted world now with these masked agents,” said John Roth, who served as inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security under Presidents Barack Obama and Trump.

“The first thing that you do when you give an agent a gun and a badge and the authority over American people is to make sure that they follow the Constitution, period,” he said.

In this new film, we focus on the activity of five agents from the US-Mexico border whose identities we’ve been able to confirm.

Watch the documentary

We are not aware of any disciplinary action taken against these agents. DHS did not respond to requests for comment; the individual agents either declined to comment or didn’t respond to calls or emails.

We showed the incidents to Roth and Steve Bunnell, former DHS general counsel. Both have testified before Congress, raising the alarm about what they see as a dismantling of the department’s accountability and credibility. Roth called the incidents “difficult to watch.”

“There are sort of two essential components of DHS and law enforcement generally being effective, and that’s trust and credibility,” Bunnell said. “And they have lost those things to the extent they had them.”