The Brief

Even before President Donald Trump took office for a second time, panic about his promised “mass deportations” — and raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — was already spreading throughout California.

For example, in an early January operation unrelated to ICE, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office served two search warrants related to retail theft. But photos of the vans used by the sheriff’s office began spreading on social media, accompanied by messages claiming that ICE was present and detaining people in East San José, where thousands of immigrant families live.

“People in the community were reaching out to me to ask me if this was true,” said Huy Tran, executive director of Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN), an organization with offices in San José and Fresno that offers legal aid, trainings and leadership development to immigrant communities.

Throughout California, there are networks of dedicated volunteers and attorneys who are responding to possible ICE activity around the clock — called Rapid Response Networks. SIREN, for example, forms part of Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network, which, on Jan. 26, responded to reports from neighbors about ICE sightings in East San José. This time around, the Rapid Response Network confirmed that the rumors were true: ICE agents were indeed transferring individuals who had received deportation orders.

Since the inauguration, social media posts about apparent ICE sightings in the Bay Area’s immigrant communities have ramped up — bringing understandable concern and panic with them. Last week, a San Francisco middle student’s report that they were questioned by an immigration agent on a city Muni bus prompted SFUSD officials to send emails to local families warning them about the alleged incident — even though representatives for both ICE and the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office ultimately denied any involvement in the incident.

But it can be difficult to distinguish fact from rumor while you’re scrolling, especially when the news is concerning. We spoke to immigration experts and advocates about what to know about current ICE operations in California and how to avoid sharing misinformation about ICE raids yourself — even with the best of intentions.

ICE, fear and perception

In California, a state with roughly 2 million undocumented individuals, according to the Pew Research Center, advocates say Trump has been weaponizing fear, along with harsher enforcement of immigration policies.

“The federal government is more likely going to do the things that can get the Trump administration visibility,” said Lourdes Martínez, who helps lead the immigrants’ rights practice at Oakland legal services nonprofit Centro Legal de la Raza. “They only have to detain a few people for the fear to really reverberate.”

It’s normal to feel scared about ICE showing up in your community, said Tran from SIREN. “I understand the desire to want to do something, to share information right away,” he added.

But fear also makes it hard for people to sort bad information from good, and panic can lead folks to quickly share online posts without checking them out further. “Anxiety, fear, it spreads incredibly quickly,” Tran said. “When people send information out to these huge networks, it spreads far, wide and fast.”

Students and supporters of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) rally in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 12, 2019.

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What have ICE arrests looked like in Trump’s first days, and what is the focus?

During his 2024 campaign, Trump promised his administration would launch “the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America.” He even promised to deploy the military for deportations.

In his first week back as president, Trump signed both an executive order declaring “an invasion” at the southern border and ended a Biden-era rule that restricted immigration officers from detaining people at “sensitive locations” like schools, churches and hospitals. ICE detentions have also intensified in Chicago since the inauguration, where officials said they have launched “enhanced targeted operations.”

But while Trump still said his administration would go ahead with mass deportations, officials appointed by him are being more careful with their words — laying emphasis, for now, on people with criminal convictions. “If you’re in the country illegally, ICE can visit you,” said Tom Homan, who Trump designated as “border czar.” “But right now … we’re concentrating on the worst first,” he clarified during an interview with Fox News on Wednesday. “The public safety threats.”

In the same interview, Homan said that ICE had arrested 308 undocumented individuals with criminal convictions the previous day alone. For context, that’s still way below the average daily number of arrests and deportations during the Obama administration.

As for Trump’s promise of using the military for deportations, the only evidence of the administration doing this is using military aircraft to fly migrants detained by ICE to their countries of origin. Additional troops have arrived in San Diego, but the Pentagon said these troops will not be involved in law enforcement.

What should I do if I see an online post about ICE in the community?

The major takeaway: If you think you see ICE in your neighborhood or see ICE reported nearby on social media, advocates advise that you call them instead of circulating anything online.

Tran of SIREN explained further: Before posting anything, you should first reach out to your local Rapid Response Network — a coalition of volunteers, organizations and attorneys that work together to confirm ICE sightings and connect people who have been detained by ICE to legal representation.

Find the Rapid Response Network that serves your community.

It’s possible that the Rapid Response Network in your city has already checked out the reported ICE sighting you’re seeing on your feed — so by calling them, you can get information from folks who are at the scene. You could also be alerting them to an ICE sighting that isn’t already on their radar.

San Francisco community organization Mission Action urged people to avoid sharing unverified information, with Executive Director Laura Valdez saying that such rumors “can unnecessarily heighten fear and confusion” and that communities should trust Rapid Response Networks to “verify reports and share clear, actionable updates.”

The organization said that anyone directly witnessing ICE activity can contact the 24-hour San Francisco hotline at 415-200-1548. (Find other hotlines available in Northern California.)

As a general rule, to be wary of misinformation online, check which organization is posting about apparent ICE sightings, and look for any sources for their information. Keep in mind that users of social media platform X can purchase “blue check marks,” so a blue check alone isn’t proof of reliability.

Google’s reverse image search can be a quick way to see where a photo has been used on the internet. For example, an image purporting to show a recent “ICE raid” could be, in fact, an archive image from another year entirely. However, keep in mind that Google prioritizes its own AI results at the top of the page. Those results have been proven to sometimes be unreliable, inconsistent and even inappropriate, so it’s best if you actually visit the source through the links provided.

Read more tips for spotting misinformation online.

How can I recognize an ICE agent in real life or in a video?

ICE agents can sometimes wear uniforms or gear that suggests they are police officers or probation officers, according to the American Civil Liberties Union Southern California.

This can sometimes convince people to let agents enter a home without a warrant. In 2018, several San Francisco police commissioners called on ICE to stop these practices, saying it interfered with local policing.

ICE agents can also wear civilian clothes or plain dark clothing with a bulletproof vest.

Police officers, however, usually wear a more specific-looking uniform “with identifying insignias,” ACLU SoCal said.

Q. What is the difference between ICE and CBP?

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and Customs and Border Protection, CBP, are both immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. ICE conducts enforcement within the U.S. and manages detention and deportation operations. CBP conducts inspections at all U.S. “ports of entry” – at land borders, seaports, and airports. And the Border Patrol, which is part of CBP, polices the land borders in between the official ports of entry.

ICE and CBP officers generally need an administrative warrant (signed by an ICE or CBP supervisor) in order to arrest a person. However they can make an arrest without a warrant if they see a person illegally entering the country, or they have “reason to believe” a person is here illegally and likely to escape before they can get a warrant.

You have more protections if the encounter happens when you are in your home. Under the Fourth Amendment, if ICE or CBP agents (or any law enforcement officer) comes to your door and wants to enter your home, they either need to present a warrant signed by a judge (not just an administrative warrant from their agency) – or they need your consent. Agents could also technically enter without permission if they report hearing an emergency happening inside the home.

If you don’t want the agent to come in, legal advocates say, you don’t have to open the door unless the agent shows you a judicial warrant. (Advocates suggest asking the agent to slide the warrant under the door or hold it up to a window where you can read it.)

Similar to ICE, CBP officers may have “police” written prominently on their uniform. “U.S. Customs and Border Protection” may be written on their sleeve or on their back.

Federal law grants additional powers to CBP within a wide border zone that the government has defined as 100 air miles from an “external boundary” of the U.S. Within that zone – which covers most coastal cities in the country, including San Francisco – CBP agents can stop and question people, and board vessels, buses and trains to search for unauthorized immigrants without a warrant.

That said, you do still have constitutional protections, including the right to remain silent so you don’t say something that could incriminate you. Immigration officers cannot detain you without “reasonable suspicion” of a crime, and they cannot search you or your belongings without “probable cause” – unless you give your consent.

KQED’s Tyche Hendricks and Samantha Lim contributed to this article.

Last week, Synergy Quantum Academy students joined regional walkouts protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. But with the South L.A. school’s tall metal gate shut, some opted to climb and jump over it.

The school’s leadership wrote in messages to parents and staff that an “unauthorized staff member” then opened that campus gate — in conflict with Los Angeles Unified School District protocol.

That staff member, teacher Ricardo Lopez, said he acted out of concern for the safety of students who might have hurt themselves trying to leave the school.

He said the school fired him the same day. Now his dismissal has spurred further protests and raised questions about whose responsibility it is to ensure safety as students exercise their First Amendment rights.

Here’s what we know 

Thousands of students across Los Angeles walked out during the first week of February to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including students at Synergy Quantum Academy.

Lopez said that after the walkouts on Feb. 4, he heard several students talk about injuring themselves climbing over the metal fences that surround the South L.A. school.

On Thursday morning, during his academic prep period, Lopez said he saw students trying to climb over the metal gate on the north side of the campus.

“When I saw one of my [AP U.S. History] students climbing the fence and jumping…and like almost falling, I started rushing towards the gate,” Lopez said. “ I opened the gate for them so other students wouldn’t get hurt like the day before.”

Guidance from the ACLU of Southern California related to student walkouts states “locking exits to the school can pose serious health and safety concerns for students and staff.”

Lopez said he opened this gate on the north side of Synergy Quantum Academy and Maya Angelou Community High School's shared campus after watching students attempt to climb over Thursday Feb. 5.

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Lopez said within an hour, Synergy’s human resources department informed him that he’d been terminated for insubordination. Lopez said there was no hearing or additional meeting where he was able to defend his actions.

“What hurts even more was that they escorted me out like I was a — I felt like a criminal,” Lopez said.

The contents of his classroom were later boxed and sent to him via a third-party delivery service.

Lopez said it’s still unclear to him why he was fired. He said staff received an email earlier in the week telling them not to participate in student protests, but there was no mention of any policy related to the gate.

“ I wasn't participating [in the protest],” Lopez said. “To me it was about protecting students from getting hurt.”

What has the school communicated? 

The school’s public justification for terminating Lopez intersects with a longstanding source of friction in Los Angeles schools — the co-location of independent charter schools on the campuses of traditional district schools.

Synergy Quantum Academy shares a campus with Los Angeles Unified's Maya Angelou Community High School. Synergy is an independent charter school with a separate staff overseen by a board of directors outside of the district.

In messages to parents and staff, Synergy's principal said opening the gate conflicted with LAUSD protocol.

Synergy Quantum Academy enrolled 564 students in the 2024-2025 school year and is one of several charter schools operated by Synergy Academies.

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Synergy Academies CEO Rhonda Deomampo confirmed Lopez is no longer employed at the school.

In response to LAist's inquiry about which protocol was violated, Deomampo wrote in an email that Maya Angelou Community High School’s safety plan “clearly outlines the authority of the principal or designee in situations like these.” She also said “to date, the school has received no reports of student injuries related to student protests.”

The excerpt provided from the 206-page safety plan states it is the responsibility of the principal or designee to “maintain adequate safeguards to ensure the safety and welfare of students” during a walkout. The plan states “if students leave campus, school site administrators do not have a legal obligation to protect the safety and welfare of the students.” The document provided does not explicitly prohibit a staff member from opening a gate.

How is LAUSD involved? 

A Los Angeles Unified spokesperson said while independent charter schools are expected to follow district policies related to walkouts, the district does not weigh in on personnel decisions.

“Independent charter schools are responsible for the supervision and management of the charter school employees,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Lopez said at Synergy, like many charter schools, he was an “at-will” employee, which means he can be terminated with or without cause and does not have the additional protections associated with union membership.

Community calls for teacher’s reinstatement

Lopez said he has a shared background with many of his students as the son of undocumented, working, immigrant parents who didn’t have an opportunity to pursue higher education themselves.

“That's one of the reasons I wanted to be a teacher because a lot of things that I learned [in college] really helped me grow,” Lopez said. Teaching was a way to pay forward that knowledge.

“ I really miss my students, you know, I miss being in the classroom,” Lopez said. “ I just want to be reinstated, you know, and just keep, keep doing what I'm doing, teaching and supporting my students and protecting my students.”

Lopez said he is also worried that the termination could jeopardize his teaching credential or ability to get future jobs as an educator.

On Tuesday, dozens of students from both Maya and Synergy joined with organizers from Unión del Barrio and the Association of Raza Educators to rally for Lopez’s reinstatement.

Ayleen was a junior in Lopez's AP U.S. History class. “ When he sees that a student's not OK, he asks them personally and he doesn't embarrass them in front of everybody," she said.

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Synergy junior Ayleen said she didn’t participate in Wednesday’s walkout, but heard about peers who’d jumped the fence and gotten hurt. Ayleen requested to be identified only by her first name to protect her privacy.

“We truly believe that he shouldn't have been fired for protecting a student,” she said. “That's his number one priority as a teacher, protecting his students, and he's the only one that upheld that that day.”

Lopez was Ayleen’s AP U.S. History teacher. AP classes culminate in a rigorous test where students can earn college credit.

“He has this way of teaching that he helps so much because he re-words questions,” Ayleen said. “It sounds simple, but so many teachers don't do that. He genuinely helps us to learn.”

Ayleen’s mother, Mary, said she supported her daughter’s decision to join the Friday walkout in protest of Lopez’s termination and would like the school to bring him back.

According to an Instagram post, students from Maya and Synergy plan to participate in another walkout Friday — still against ICE, but now also in support of their former teacher.

The National Park Service is asking for public input for its study on whether the L.A. coastline between San Pedro and Santa Monica should qualify for national park designation.

Federal officials held a public meeting Wednesday and outlined the study process.

Congress passed a law in 2022 that called for this study and greenlit funding for the three-year effort.

Lawmakers will use the findings to decide whether to designate the stretch of coastline — which includes the Santa Monica Pier, Ballona Creek and RAT Beach — a national park.

Sarah Bodo, project manager at NPS, said the coastline is interpreted as part of the sea to approximately 200 yards inland.

“The 200-yard number is an effort to include the beach areas and the public lands, while excluding private property from the study area,” Bodo said. “In cases where private property is within 200 yards, those properties are excluded from the study.”

What are the criteria?

To become a national park, the area needs to contain nationally significant resources, not already be in the national park system and require direct NPS management.

Sequoia National Park, for example, was recognized in 1890 to protect the giant trees from logging.

Officials will also consider where the access, cost and size of the area can be managed by the department.

The National Park Service is studying whether the red portions of the L.A. coastline should qualify for national park designation.

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“A study area must meet all four of the criteria,” Bodo said.

What happens now?

The agency is early in the study process. If you have thoughts on the matter, now is the time to share them.

The public comment period is open until April 6.

In the coming months, the agency will review that feedback before preparing a study report for Congress.

Only Congress and the president have the ability to designate a new national park.

“At that point, it will be up to Congress or the president to take action or not. There is no timeline for further action from Congress or the president,” Bodo said. “The completion of the study does not establish a new park unit.”

The process could take years. The last designation given to Missouri’s Ste. Genevieve National Historic Park in 2018, according to the Associated Press. Congress ordered the study for that park in 2005.

Outstanding questions

One question raised at Wednesday’s meeting was what the benefits and downsides of having NPS manage this area are.

Bodo said that would depend on what the legislation would say if designated and how management would work.

“The National Park Service is required to conserve unimpaired scenery, natural and historic objects, wildlife of parks, and to provide for their enjoyment by the public. That's our overall mission,” Bodo said. “National parks can also generate economic activity in nearby communities.”

And, if designated, how exactly would management of this area work?

It’s also still too early to say, but existing property owners, like the county or city, could continue to own and manage the property, Bodo added.

“If this were to be designated, there maybe wouldn't be significant changes in that arena,” Bodo said. “The Park Service would seek to work collaboratively with local communities and existing agencies on common goals for resource protection and recreational opportunities.”

Another question asked was how might Park Service involvement along the L.A. coast affect fishing and hunting regulations?

“That's really dependent on land ownership, so if land ownership did not change, nothing would change,” Bodo said.

How you can participate

The National Park Service is looking for public input. A second virtual meeting will be held March 11 at 6 p.m. You can join here.

Public comments are also being accepted online here.

Want more Olympics updates? Subscribe here to get our newsletter, Rachel Goes to the Games, delivered to your inbox for a behind-the-scenes look at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

MILAN — U.S. snowboarder Chloe Kim's quest for a historic Olympic halfpipe three-peat was foiled by none other than her teenage protégé.

Kim took home silver, after 17-year-old Gaon Choi of South Korea rebounded from a dramatic crash to overtake her in the final run.

"It's the kind of story you only see in dreams, so I'm incredibly happy it happened today," Choi said afterward.

Kim, 25, was within arm's reach of becoming the first halfpipe snowboarder to win three consecutive Olympic golds. Despite a last-minute shoulder injury, she cruised easily through Wednesday's qualifiers, which were actually her first competition of the season.

And she was looking like a lock through much of Thursday's final — under a light nighttime snowfall in Livigno — which hinged on the best of three runs.

Kim's strong first showing gave her 88 points and an early lead, which she held for the majority of the competition as many other contenders — including her U.S. teammates Bea Kim and Maddy Mastro — fell on one or more of their runs.

A big crash nearly ended Choi's night early, but after a medical exam she returned to the halfpipe slope for two more runs.

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Choi also took a heavy fall on her opening run, needing a concussion check. She almost missed her second turn, only to fall again. But an impressive third run propelled her to the top of the leaderboard, with 90.25 points.

"It wasn't so much about having huge resolve," she said later. "I just kept thinking about the technique I was originally doing."

Then all eyes were on Kim, the last rider of the night, with a chance to retake the lead. But she fell on her cab double cork 1080, a trick she had landed cleanly in previous runs, which stuck her with her original score. Choi and her team broke down in happy sobs and cheers immediately.

As Choi wiped her eyes, a beaming Kim greeted her at the photo finish with a warm hug. As they lined up alongside bronze medalist Mitsuki Ono of Japan, Kim stood to Choi's side and pointed at her excitedly.

"I've known [Choi] since she was little, and it means a lot to see that I've inspired the next generation and they're now out here killing it," Kim said afterward.

Choi is the same age Kim was in 2018 when she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboard medal.

The two have known each other for nearly a decade, a bond that began when Choi's father struck up a friendship with Kim's dad — who emigrated from South Korea to the U.S. — in the lead-up to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Kim (R) gave Choi (L) a warm reception after the last run of the night.

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"Chloe's dad did a lot of mentoring to my dad," Choi said after winning the first World Cup she entered in 2023, at age 14. "I didn't know much because I was young, but Chloe's dad gave my dad a lot of advice. It made me who I am today."

Kim and her dad helped bring Choi to the U.S. to train with at California's Mammoth Mountain, and maintained a supportive relationship. Kim spoke highly of Choi at an earlier press conference, calling it a "full-circle moment" and saying she sees "a mirror reflection of myself and my family."

"We're seeing a big shift to Asians being dominant in snow sports," she added. "I've had aunts telling me that I shouldn't snowboard, get a real career, focus on school. It's cool to see that shift happening."

Choi's victory makes her the first female Korean athlete to win a medal in snow sports. This is also South Korea's first snowboard gold.

"I want to introduce this sport more to my country through my performance at this Olympics," Choi told Olympics.com before the Games. "I also believe that enjoying the Games is just as important as achieving good results."
Copyright 2026 NPR

A federal judge this week ruled against the city of Los Angeles in a long-running lawsuit over the city’s practice of destroying unhoused people’s property during encampment sweeps.

In a rare default judgment, U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer made a finding in favor of the plaintiffs — ending the case — because the city destroyed, fabricated or altered documents relevant to the case.

The judge found the city had acted "willfully and in bad faith" to deprive the plaintiffs of the information they requested repeatedly, and that the city's explanation for its misconduct was "not credible," according to court documents.

It’s a win for six unhoused residents and advocacy organization Ktown For All, who filed the lawsuit in 2019, challenging whether L.A. Sanitation employees violated unhoused residents’ constitutional rights when seizing and discarding belongings during sweeps.

L.A. city code allows employees to remove and impound unattended, abandoned or hazardous items that are in the public right-of-way. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs alleged city sanitation workers arbitrarily seize and destroy property without objective standards or proper notice. With the default judgement, the court accepted those allegations as true.

City’s misconduct 

According to the judge's ruling, attorneys for Ktown For All argued that the city had "altered and fabricated key evidence" — including health hazard assessment reports and checklists —- after the lawsuit was filed. Their arguments were supported in 2023, after a forensic examiner reviewed some of the evidence and the court found the city had "altered, modified, and created documents" relevant to the case.

The city of L.A. admitted to destroying some documents, but argued it did so because the records were error-filled because of flawed record-keeping during the pandemic, not an “intent to deprive Plaintiffs of the information’s use in the litigation,” according to the ruling.

Fischer noted there were problematic documents associated with more than 90% of the 144 cleanup cases examined by the court. Those records were being used to justify the city’s legal defenses for seizing unhoused residents’ belongings.

The judge also affirmed that city employees rewrote some reports to change the reason for seizures, including adding details about “biohazards” and describing property as “surrendered” or “dangerous.”

According to the ruling, the L.A. City Attorney’s Office hid the misconduct from the court and violated multiple court orders over five years.

“The court cannot proceed to trial with confidence that plaintiffs have had access to the true facts,” Fischer wrote.

“Where a party so damages the integrity of the discovery process that there can never be assurance of proceeding on the true facts, a case-dispositive sanction may be appropriate,” the judge continued, quoting another legal ruling.

Reaction from the attorneys

Shayla Myers with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said the city’s fabrication and alteration of documents made a fair trial impossible.

“The fabrication of cleanup reports in this case is itself an indictment of the city's practices,” Myers said. “At these sweeps, the city provides unhoused people absolutely no recourse.”

L.A. city officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the court’s decision.

What’s next?

The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a permanent injunction blocking the city from seizing and discarding personal property during encampment cleanups. They have until March 27 to file a brief in support of a proposed permanent injunction.