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The Brief

The most important stories for you to know today
  • What made the first U.S. tournament a success?

    Topline:

    Ahead of the 1994 World Cup, most Americans were unaware that the U.S. would be hosting the tournament. A survey from the time ranked soccer 67th among the nation's favorite sports (behind tractor pulling).

    What happened next: Despite this, the 1994 World Cup — the first held in the U.S. — took a surprising turn. Game after game, the Rose Bowl and stadiums across the country were filled to capacity, packed not only with tourists and die-hard fans but also with soccer novices who came out of curiosity and because tickets were relatively affordable, according to soccer historians.

    Where things stand: Soccer's momentum in the U.S. has only been growing since then, fueled by the launch of Major League Soccer and the success of the U.S. Women's National Team. The World Cup returns to the U.S. in June. This time, the games in L.A. — eight total — will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

    The 1994 World Cup kicked off with a sold-out match. On a scorching afternoon in Chicago, some 63,000 spectators — including then-President Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey — were packed like sardines at Soldier Field to watch Germany vs. Bolivia. Their cheers and boos, as loud as thunder.

    Today, it's easy to imagine a World Cup game drawing such American fanfare. But back then, it was a much different story.

    "It was a big question as to how the U.S. would embrace it. Would people come to the games?" Mike Sorber, who played for the U.S. Men's National Team in 1994, told NPR.

    Ahead of the 1994 World Cup, most Americans were unaware that the U.S. would be hosting the tournament. A survey from the time ranked soccer 67th among the nation's favorite sports (behind tractor pulling).

    Despite this, the 1994 World Cup — the first held in the U.S. — took a surprising turn. Game after game, stadiums were filled to capacity, packed not only with tourists and die-hard fans but also with soccer novices who came out of curiosity and because tickets were relatively affordable, according to soccer historians.

    A man in a white and red striped uniform shirt kicks a soccer ball.
    Mike Sorber plays during an exhibition game at the Rose Bowl in 1994.
    (
    Al Bello
    /
    Getty Images
    )

    " I think all the naysayers were surprised," said Sorber, who is currently an assistant coach for Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls. "The atmosphere was electric. It was like a big party."

    Soccer's momentum in the U.S. has only been growing since then, fueled by the launch of Major League Soccer and the success of the U.S. Women's National Team. When the World Cup returns to the U.S. in June, it will be greeted by a larger and more passionate fanbase than ever before.

    How exactly did a sport that struggled to gain traction for decades go on to break the World Cup's record for largest attendance and win over Americans' hearts? To answer that, NPR spoke to Sorber, along with soccer journalists and fans, about the breakthrough World Cup.

    Why did it take so long for the U.S. to embrace soccer?

    How far back the soccer tradition in the U.S. goes depends on whom you ask and where they're from.

    Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis and pockets of New York, New Jersey and New England all have deep soccer roots — often brought by European immigrants in the 19th century, according to Brian D. Bunk, who teaches the history of sports at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

    As a result, the sport was largely associated with working-class and immigrant communities, Bunk added. Some also dismissed soccer over the perception that it lacked the physicality of sports like American football.

    People wave a yellow, blue and red flag as some hold soccer balls along a parade route.
    Colombian soccer fans wave their country's flag during the "Chicago Welcomes the World Cup" parade on June 15, 1994.
    (
    Eugene Garcia
    /
    AFP via Getty Images
    )

    "The argument that was often made against soccer is that it was an inferior form of football," Bunk said.

    There were brief bursts of excitement for the sport in the late 20th century — such as when legendary Brazilian player Pelé came to play in the U.S. in the late 1970s — but they never lasted long.

    By the 1980s, the future of soccer in the U.S. looked bleak. The North American Soccer League, which began in 1968, folded after the 1984 season. American soccer officials hoped a World Cup tournament at home could resuscitate interest.

    " Let's face it: You need to have the product in front of you to see what the heck this is all about," said Michael Lewis, who has covered soccer for five decades. He's the editor of Front Row Soccer, a website that follows the soccer scene in New York and New Jersey.

    FIFA also saw an opportunity. Soccer's global governing body viewed the U.S. "as the last and largest uncracked market for its sport," Pete Davies, who has written extensively about sports, told NPR's Fresh Air in 1994.

    "And it want[ed] to get into that market," he added.

    What led to the tournament's success in 1994? 

    What the U.S. lacked in soccer prowess, it made up for with its ability to put on a massive sporting event (thanks to the nation's football stadiums and experience hosting the Olympics) — and a fun one at that.

    " We have the sporting infrastructure — the stadiums — we have the hotels, the restaurants, the transportation systems," said Bunk, of the University of Massachusetts. "And so all of that stuff meant that the World Cup could go very smoothly."

    Americans also proved they were up for a good time — and World Cup fans knew how to bring the party. Drums, whistles, trumpets, singing, dancing and face paint were the hallmarks of a World Cup game.

    A person in a large sombrero has his face painted red, white and green.
    A Mexican fan, his face painted with Mexico's national colors, cheers in the stands at the Citrus Bowl stadium in Orlando, Fla., on June 24, 1994, prior to the start of the World Cup match between Mexico and Ireland.
    (
    Hans Deryk
    /
    AP
    )
    A man in light blue and white stripes hits a drum in the same colors at a crowded stadium.
    A soccer fan supporting Argentina plays a drum at the World Cup match between Argentina and Nigeria at Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts in June 1994.
    (
    Richard Sellers
    /
    Allstar/Getty Images
    )

    That's what Kevin Tallec Marston, a research fellow at the International Centre for Sports Studies in Switzerland, remembers most vividly from the Belgium vs. Saudi Arabia match in Washington, D.C., which he attended as a teenager.

    "It was not the kind of fandom that Americans would associate with going to an NBA game, going to an NFL game," he said. "Seeing these people from all around the world with their own cultures, their own chants, their own songs, their own instruments."

    Univision played a major role in attracting both Spanish- and non-Spanish-speaking viewers alike, especially through World Cup announcer Andrés Cantor and his iconic "Goooooooooool!"

    "It created this sort of mythical element of what it was to watch the World Cup," said Tallec Marston, who, along with Front Row Soccer's Lewis, is a board member of the Society for American Soccer History.

    But perhaps what electrified Americans most was the strong performance of the U.S. Men's National Team. It started with a hard-fought 1-1 tie with Switzerland, followed by a stunning 2-1 upset over powerhouse Colombia. (The victory was later marred by tragedy: Colombian defender Andrés Escobar, who had accidentally knocked the ball into his own team's net, was shot and killed shortly after returning home.)

    That match was the first World Cup win for the U.S. men's team since 1950. The team's victory was witnessed by more than 93,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

    Sorber, a midfielder in the starting lineup, said he had played for large crowds before, but never for an audience so enthralled by the U.S. team. It was "euphoria," he said.

    " All of a sudden, it really opened the eyes to the whole United States … that wow, this is what the future of soccer could be."

    Steve Davis covered the 1994 games as a young sports reporter for The Dallas Morning News. "It sort of lit a fire under people," he said. "I would think some Americans became soccer fans that day."

    The U.S. team went on to lose to Romania 1-0 and then to Brazil 1-0. Although the U.S. didn't win, Sorber said, the support and energy from American fans during those matches felt like a victory.

    " You had a huge turnout," he said. "So again, that was a big moment in U.S. soccer history … to reestablish soccer, to build that foundation and get more awareness for the U.S. national team."

    Post-1994

    In total, over 3.5 million people attended the 1994 World Cup — the largest attendance in FIFA history to this day. Despite its success, soccer's American fanbase didn't grow overnight.

    "Soccer's growth isn't linear," writer Davis said.

    Two years later, the professional Major League Soccer (MLS) launched. Around that time, FIFA's World Cup video game franchise helped introduce soccer to an even broader audience. All the while, the U.S. Women's National Team emerged as a dominating force and accelerated the rise of women's soccer globally. Across the U.S., youth soccer exploded in popularity.

    A woman holds a shirt in her right hand. She's in a black sports bra.
    Brandi Chastain celebrates after kicking the winning penalty kick at the 1999 women's World Cup final against China on July 10, 1999.
    (
    Roberto Schmidt
    /
    AFP via Getty Images
    )

    The arrival of international superstars to MLS, like David Beckham in 2007 and Lionel Messi in 2023, added fire to the nation's passion for the sport. MLS, which began with 10 teams, has since expanded to 30 clubs.

    Together, these moments helped transform the soccer landscape in the United States. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar drew an average of 4.7 million American viewers per game, according to Nielsen. Each year, millions of Americans watch England's Premier League matches on TV and streaming platforms.

    When it comes to America's favorite sports, soccer now ranks third, surpassing baseball, according to Ampere Analysis, a data firm focused on entertainment industries.

    Davis, who is now the director of legacy programs for the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, said it's validating to see the sport he has loved and played since childhood resonate with more people at home.

    "I did have some faith that it was going to grow," he said. "But I would be lying if I said I thought we'd be here in 2026, seeing how big it's become."

    The challenges ahead 

    Although this isn't the first time that the U.S. has hosted the World Cup, the upcoming tournament is expected to be vastly different.

    "One of the key aspects of the '94 World Cup was taking football to the new horizon," said Tallec Marston, who co-wrote Inventing the Boston Game. "So it'll be interesting because we are no longer in a new frontier."

    Hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, this year's competition will introduce more teams and matches than ever before. It will also return to a far more diverse United States. In 1994, about 8% of the country's population was foreign-born. As of 2025, immigrants make up 15% of the nation.

    A man in a green shirt is kicking a soccer ball while suspended in the air in an oversized mural.
    Two men walk past a mural of a soccer player in Guadalajara, Mexico, on April 29. Mexico will co-host the biggest World Cup in history, along with the United States and Canada, from June 11 to July 19.
    (
    Ulises Ruiz
    /
    AFP via Getty Images
    )

    "You're going to have a representation of countries and nations that we will have never seen before. And so that will be very exciting to see," Tallec Marston said.

    The current U.S. Men's National Team has far more experience on the World Cup stage compared with the 1994 team. Since then, the team has qualified for every World Cup except one, in 2018. There's much excitement for this group of young players, many of whom are playing for top European clubs.

    The controversies leading up to the games are also quite different. In 1994, the uncertainty was whether many Americans would attend the matches. This year, the question is whether they will be able to afford to — with dynamic pricing driving ticket costs sky-high.

    The tournament will also take place during a politically volatile period in the United States. The ongoing war with Iran has led to questions about whether the Iranian team will participate.

    The Trump administration's travel restrictions and harsh immigration crackdown have also sparked debate as to how many tourists will feel comfortable traveling to the United States. The administration is also requiring a bond of up to $15,000 for travelers from 50 countries that it deemed as having immigration risk factors, such as high overstay rates and screening and vetting deficiencies. Five nations that qualified for the World Cup — Algeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Tunisia and Cape Verde — are on the list.

    For all these reasons, Lewis, who wrote Around the World Cup in 40 Years, about his experience covering eight men's World Cups, expects that "there'll be magic, but there'll be headaches too."

    " I think the games themselves should be exciting and fun," he said. However, putting the problems to rest, Lewis added, will be "easier said than done."
    Copyright 2026 NPR

  • LA County officials: We're preparing for worst
    Waves crash against a sand berm protecting beachfront homes, with palm trees and a harbor lined with houses in the background.
    High tides and strong surf have vexed Southern California coastal areas this summer. Emergency managers now are warning the upcoming winter may feature a stronger-than-usual El Niño season.

    Topline:

    Emergency management officials briefed the L.A. County Board of Supervisors today on preparations for this winter’s potentially historic rain driven by El Niño.

    The details: The county’s Office of Emergency Management says it’s holding a practice El Nino response exercise with other agencies on September 13 to identify gaps. Public Works plans to have all of the county’s flood control infrastructure inspected and cleared of debris by Oct. 15.

    Flood risk: Officials said residents near wildfire burn scars are particularly at risk of flooding, and urged both homeowners and renters to consider investing in flood insurance ahead of the winter. They also discussed efforts to protect low-lying coastal areas and risks to roads like Pacific Coast Highway.

    Read on…for more on the preparations.

    Emergency management officials Tuesday told L.A. County supervisors they're preparing for the worst ahead of this winter’s potentially historic El Niño weather system.

    The climate pattern usually brings significant rain and ocean swells to Southern California, elevating the risk of flooding and mudslides.

    What we're seeing

    An animation shows changing sea temperatures over the last several weeks.
    (
    NOAA
    )

    Forecasters say El Niño has already formed in the tropical Pacific Ocean and that there is already a 90% chance of a strong El Niño in our region this year.

    What you need to know about El Niño

    El Niño years can be associated with lots of rain in Southern California, though there's no guarantee of a deluge.

    And wet winters aren’t always disastrous. What matters is how much water falls within how much time. In fact, going back to when modern records began in 1950, most of the years when we've seen the highest flood-related costs were not during El Niño events.

    But there are concerns beyond rain for late 2026 and early 2027.

    El Niño this time will coincide with another natural phenomenon — the highest tides of the year in a nearly two-decade cycle known as “the declination of the moon.” We’re reaching the max this winter, according to Scripps scientist Mark Merrifield.

    Because El Niño warms the ocean, it also raises sea levels temporarily. On top of that there’s an unprecedented level of human-caused global warming in the mix — that has already raised sea levels by as much as a foot along California’s coast over the last century, and is making normal weather patterns more extreme.

    “So  we start adding these things up, and they're actually not so small anymore,” said climate scientist Daniel Swain. “The risk of coastal flooding is actually very high and almost guaranteed.”

    It’s not only the coast — inland areas, especially along creeks and rivers, are also at risk due to more extreme rainfall driven by El Niño as well as human-caused global heating, Swain and other experts said.

    How the county is getting ready

    The county’s Office of Emergency Management said it plans to hold a practice El Niño response exercise on Sept. 13. It will include county departments and community disaster management coordinators.

    “ Most importantly, the exercise will allow us to identify gaps and response actions that we can continue to work on throughout the storm season,” said Kevin McGowan, director of L.A. County’s OEM.

    Crews with L.A. County Public Works are working to inspect and clear all of the county’s flood control infrastructure, like storm drains and debris catch basins, in advance of any storms. Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said the infrastructure should be fully prepared by Oct. 15.

    Pestrella also said his agency is watching the Eaton and Palisades fires’ burn scars, which are particularly susceptible to flooding and mudslides. He also urged homeowners to be aware of older burn scars.

    “Look for hillside slopes that come down onto the property, and the vegetation is burned and still scarred, we want them to contact us directly,” Pestrella said.

    What you can do

    A person in overalls shovels mud from a road as crews in yellow gear clear debris near homes and cars.
    At atmospheric river in February 2025 had residents and firefighters clearing mud in Sierra Madre. Emergency managers are warning Southern Californians could be in for a wet winter, with recent burn scar areas of particular concern.
    (
    Mario Tama
    /
    Getty Images
    )

    Emergency managers are urging at-risk residents — both homeowners and renters — to invest in flood insurance ahead of this winter, as it is not included in standard policies. They also said now is the time to fix leaky roofs and make sure drains are working properly.

    During the presentation, officials also talked about their efforts to protect low-lying areas of the coast from flooding driven by both rain and high surf and warned that parts of Pacific Coast Highway are highly vulnerable to erosion.

    Another area both emergency managers and county supervisors hope to prioritize is flood planning and emergency shelters for unhoused individuals in flood-prone areas.

    At the end of the day, forecasters reminded the board that they can’t predict when rain will come or where it will fall. And emergency managers said they are preparing for the worst, regardless of what El Niño will actually bring this winter.

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  • CA legislators send post-fire rules to gov’s desk
     A smoke remediation van is parked on a residential street in Pasadena, a few blocks away from where homes burned down in the Eaton Fire.
    A smoke remediation van is parked on a residential street in Pasadena, a few blocks away from where homes burned down in the Eaton Fire.

    Topline:

    California legislators passed two bills Monday that would require insurance companies to follow new state rules for testing and cleaning homes contaminated by toxic smoke as the result of fires. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of this month to sign the bills into law.

    The details: Assembly Bills 1642 and 1795 would work in tandem to establish what Assemblymember John Harabedian, the author of one of the bills, calls “first-in-the-nation testing and remediation standards based on science.”

    Why it matters: Some testing results in the Eaton Fire burn zone have found many homes still tested positive for lead and asbestos, even after professional remediation. Many survivors still haven’t returned to homes left standing, but covered in toxic ash, because they’re still battling their insurance companies to pay for testing and remediation.

    Next steps: Under the legislation, insurance companies would be required to keep paying for policyholders' additional living expenses until their property has been restored to pre-fire condition and cleared for occupancy. The legislation calls on the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control to establish those testing and cleaning standards for lead and asbestos by Dec. 31, 2028. The department would need to establish guidance on heavy metals and other contaminants by Dec. 31, 2029.

    Read on… to learn why insurance industry groups opposed the bill.

    California legislators passed two bills Monday that would require insurance companies to follow new state rules for testing and cleaning homes contaminated by toxic smoke as the result of fires.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of this month to sign the bills into law.

    Assembly Bills 1642 and 1795 would work in tandem to establish what Assemblymember John Harabedian, the author of one of the bills, calls “first-in-the-nation testing and remediation standards based on science.” One change would require insurance companies to keep paying policyholders' additional living expenses until their property has been restored to pre-fire condition and cleared for occupancy.

    Harabedian, whose district includes Altadena, said a lack of clear, post-fire cleaning rules has left survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires to battle with their insurers over testing for, and remediation of, harmful contaminants.

    If such rules had been in place after last year’s devastating L.A. fires, Harabedian said, “a lot of the survivors now, who are dealing with smoke damage, would be back in their homes.”

    He said many of his constituents are now “trying to afford rent, trying to get the remediation and cleanup done to a satisfactory level."

    "And, frankly," he added, "they're spending a lot of the money they need to rebuild their lives in litigation and disputes with their insurance companies.”

    Their homes survived, but they still haven’t returned

    Last year, a group of residents affected by the Eaton Fire released testing results that found many homes still tested positive for lead and asbestos, even after professional remediation.

    Dawn Fanning, managing director of Eaton Fire Residents United, said she likely will not be able to return to her home until 2027 because of ongoing disputes with her insurance company.

    “The night of the fire was traumatic,” Fanning said. “But what I and thousands of others have had to go through since then is more traumatic — at least for me. Being constantly gaslit and delayed and denied, it’s just an absolute nightmare.”

    The legislation calls on the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control to establish those testing and cleaning standards for lead and asbestos by Dec. 31, 2028. The department would need to establish guidance on heavy metals and other contaminants by Dec. 31, 2029.

    What will the changes mean for CA’s strained insurance market?

    Proponents say the rules will also protect renters seeking answers on when their homes are safe to reoccupy. Some renters who lived near Eaton and Palisades fire burn zones have felt pressured by their landlords to return to homes they believed were not adequately cleaned.

    Opponents of the legislation — which included insurance industry groups, the California Association of Realtors and the San Diego Gas and Electric Company — argued the proposals inappropriately strip oversight and regulation from the California Department of Insurance.

    “Given the complexity of smoke within insurance claims, CDI convened a Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force in the Summer of 2025,” the insurance industry groups wrote in a joint letter to state legislators earlier this year.

    They added that the legislation “usurps the ongoing work of the CDI and subsequent policy negotiations.”

    When asked if imposing new requirements on insurers could raise premiums for homeowners already seeing spikes in home insurance coverage, Harabedian said he felt the change could actually stabilize costs.

    “There have been millions, if not billions, of dollars spent in these insurance disputes,” he said. “The rates that we are currently paying are baking those costs in, because it is so inefficient. I think survivors and — I think — insurance companies want certainty.”

  • After compromise, utility 'bailout' bill dies
    A row of electrical towers are pictured against the background of a an orange and grey sky, with smoke from a nearby fire.
    Smoke from the Eaton Fire fills the sky behind electrical infrastructure in La Cañada Flintridge on Jan. 8, 2025.

    Topline:

    After nearly a month of intense closed-door negotiations, California lawmakers on the last day of session killed a compromise bill that failed to insulate utilities when they cause catastrophic wildfires.

    The compromise: Gov. Gavin Newsom and the utilities had fought to significantly reduce what utility companies pay when they cause a wildfire. Last week Newsom struck a compromise with Senate and Assembly leaders that would have imposed no limits on fire survivors’ compensation or lawyers’ contingency fees for individuals’ lawsuits. It also would have retained insurance companies’ ability to sue utilities to recoup their costs for claims, and would have barred private equity firms from investing in insurance claims.

    Fallout for utilities from the deal: Since that deal, the utilities’ stocks plunged. The high-profile campaigning in the past few weeks cost the state’s investor-owned utilities dearly. Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison stock plummeted and San Diego Gas & Electric shares fell in the past few days as Wall Street investors digested what some analysts called a “Sacramento strikeout” for utilities.

    After nearly a month of intense closed-door negotiations, California lawmakers on the last day of session killed a compromise bill that failed to insulate utilities when they cause catastrophic wildfires.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom and the utilities had fought to significantly reduce what utility companies pay when they cause a wildfire. Last week Newsom struck a compromise with Senate and Assembly leaders that would have imposed no limits on fire survivors’ compensation or lawyers’ contingency fees for individuals’ lawsuits. It also would have retained insurance companies’ ability to sue utilities to recoup their costs for claims, and would have barred private equity firms from investing in insurance claims. The utilities’ stocks plunged since the deal was reached. The Assembly did not take up the bill on Tuesday, effectively killing it.

    “The proposal before us does not yet deliver the relief, accountability or meaningful reform that Californians deserve,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to “hundreds of hours” spent on the effort in the past few weeks.

    'Here until January'

    Newsom had hoped the bill would address his concerns over rising electricity rates and the potential for another utility bankruptcy in California in the event of more catastrophic wildfires. He hinted to reporters Monday night at the Capitol that he’s “here until January” and wasn’t done with his effort.

    “I know we all hate utilities, so no one wants to defend a utility, but you’ve got to deal with reality," Newsom said. “This thing’s not going to get better on its own.”

    His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the deal fell apart.

    The compromise legislation, Senate Bill 492, was seen as a victory for some Los Angeles County fire survivors, consumer advocacy groups and insurance companies, all of whom urged the governor and lawmakers not to shift utilities’ possible costs to them.

    “It’s tragic the way this all played out,” said Jamie Court, president of advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. “They negotiated a deal, and renege when the utilities didn’t like it.”

    “We have invested hundreds of hours to fight back the utility bailout and the attacks on victims’ rights,” said Joy Chen, executive director of Every Fire Survivors Network. “If the speaker says his focus is on survivors, then we would expect that those attacks don’t come back in any legislation that comes out of any special session.”

    Utility stocks drubbed

    The high-profile campaigning in the past few weeks cost the state’s investor-owned utilities dearly. Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison stock plummeted and San Diego Gas & Electric shares fell in the past few days as Wall Street investors digested what some analysts called a “Sacramento strikeout” for utilities.

    The chief executives of PG&E and Edison wrote to Senate Pro Tem Monique Limon and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas on Monday, telling them that the utilities had collectively lost $20 billion in market value since Thursday. They warned of possible waning investments and financial risks that “will have cascading impacts” on the state’s economy and climate ambitions.

    The utilities did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

    Lobbyists and some lawmakers likewise lamented Monday that decreased investor confidence in the utilities will lead to higher borrowing costs, which could mean job cuts and less investment in critical energy infrastructure.

    “Workers got screwed, ratepayers got screwed, lawyers and insurance companies win,” said Scott Wetch, a lobbyist for the California Coalition of Utility Employees and the State Association of Electrical Workers, at an Assembly Utilities and Energy committee hearing.

    “It is a big disaster that we were not able to come up with that structural reform,” said Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, a Democrat representing Thousand Oaks.

    'Folks miscalculated'

    Some lawmakers pushed back Monday, referring to the limited amount of time they had to work on the bill, which they said centers the interests of fire survivors.

    “If you expect to back us into a corner, and then approve something without an opportunity to amend it, to talk to our constituents, to talk to groups that are impacted by it, this is the outcome,” said Assemblymember Chris Rogers, a Ukiah Democrat, at the hearing.

    Assemblymember John Harabedian, a Pasadena Democrat, on Monday called the Wall Street reaction “hysteria.”

    “The market had false expectations,” he said at the hearing. “Folks miscalculated exactly what could get done” in the last few weeks of the legislative session, he added.

    But on Tuesday, Harabedian said the bill does not help survivors and issued the following statement: “This proposal only rearranges the chairs on the deck of the Titanic when all Californians are desperate for meaningful utility reform.”

    Yue Stella Yu and Kate Wolffe contributed to this report.

    This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

  • Can students without legal status work on campus?
    Two female students hold signs during an outdoor rally. Their signs read "UC Undoc Students united for opportunity." There are several other students, holding the same signs, standing behind them
    Students march through UCLA’s campus to demand that University of California leaders remove hiring restrictions for undocumented students, in Los Angeles on May 17, 2023.

    Topline:

    A state bill that would allow students without legal status to legally work at California’s public colleges and universities easily cleared the Legislature Friday. The bill now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.

    About the bill: Assembly Bill 713 is seemingly straightforward: The University of California, California State University and community colleges cannot disqualify students without legal status from campus employment. If it becomes law, it would kick in Jan. 6. Newsom vetoed a similar bill in 2024, echoing a chief worry put forward by the University of California: Any effort to employ students without proper status would incur the wrath of the Trump administration, which could attempt to pull some or all of the $17 billion in annual federal support the system gets.

    Is student data safe from federal inquiry? Backers of the bill and the Senate’s judiciary committee analysis say students without legal status employed at a campus aren’t at greater risk of immigration action, despite concerns raised by skeptics of the proposed policy to hire them. But public California universities have shared student and personnel information with the federal government under the Trump administration’s investigations into alleged campus antisemitism. Critics say the administration exploited antisemitism accusations to coerce campuses across the country into settlements that align with the conservative values of the White House. The Cal State system settled with staff and faculty unions after they sued over the disclosure of personal information, promising to alert workers before their information is released to federal authorities investigating antisemitism.

    Read on . . . for more about the legal theory being tested under AB 713.

    Is this the year that Gov. Gavin Newsom allows students without legal status to legally work at California’s public colleges and universities?

    A state bill with wide support from Democrats but opposed by Republicans seeks to do just that by adopting an untested legal theory that argues a 1980s federal law banning employment for people without legal status doesn’t apply to state agencies. But university leaders and Newsom worry that acting on the theory could put the state on another collision course with the Trump administration.

    The bill easily cleared the Legislature Friday, including a "yes" vote from one Republican. The bill now heads to Newsom’s desk.

    Assembly Bill 713 by Assemblymember José Luis Solache, a Democrat from Lakewood, is seemingly straightforward: The University of California, California State University and community colleges cannot disqualify students without legal status from campus employment. If it becomes law, it would kick in Jan. 6.

    The systems together enrolled an estimated 60,000 students without legal status in 2023 and most were in the community colleges. Some attend private colleges and wouldn’t be covered by the bill.

    Leading the charge for this right to work on campuses are students without legal status, immigration rights groups and legal scholars. Access to safe working conditions for students without legal status is a high priority because they’re ineligible for federal Pell grants — up to $7,400 annually — and federal student loans that come with more borrower protections than ones offered by private lenders. California awards eligible in-state students tuition waivers regardless of immigration status, so many students without legal status can at least attend a public institution tuition-free.

    “While California has a longstanding commitment to expanding access, affordability, and student success in higher education, our undocumented students continue to face significant financial and structural barriers,” Solache said at a bill hearing in June.

    Newsom vetoed a similar bill in 2024, echoing a chief worry put forward by the University of California: Any effort to employ students without proper status would incur the wrath of the Trump administration, which could attempt to pull some or all of the $17 billion in annual federal support the system gets.

    The state’s Department of Finance is recommending a "no" vote on Solache’s bill. The fear of federal litigation and budget cuts are the main reasons why.

    The University of California abandoned its own review of employing students without legal status in 2024 for those reasons. Students at the public meeting cried and shouted at the board’s regents when they made the decision.

    Some Republicans cited the risk of the Trump administration cutting federal higher education funding as a reason for their opposition to the current bill.

    “If we're going to move something forward like this that then threatens 100% of all of the students, I think that's irresponsible for us as legislators,” said Assemblymember David Tangipa, a Republican from Fresno, at a January bill hearing. He voted "no" on the bill Friday.

    After Newsom vetoed the 2024 bill, which sailed through the Legislature with minimal opposition, some students sued the University of California. A state appellate court ruled that UC's argument that the federal government might sue the system was an abuse of discretion under the state’s law banning employment and housing discrimination. The court said UC’s policy of not hiring students without legal status was legally indefensible unless it can show that federal law requires the UC to continue its policy of not hiring them. The UC appealed, but the state Supreme Court let the appellate ruling stand. Still, the court ruling was silent on the soundness of the legal theory that the state can hire workers without legal status.

    The court ordered UC to pay more than $500,000 in legal fees on behalf of the plaintiffs, a student and a former lecturer.

    It’s unclear if Solache’s bill can even force the UC to comply if it becomes law. Since 1879 the state constitution has granted the system a high degree of autonomy.

    What is the legal theory being tested?

    The bill, like its predecessor that Newsom vetoed, takes its cues from a team of UCLA scholars who advanced a theory in 2022 that a federal law banning employers from hiring workers without legal status doesn’t apply to state employers. The architects of the legal argument say the law in question, 1986’s Immigration Reform and Control Act, never actually listed state agencies as employers covered by the law.

    Other laws passed by Congress clearly included states in restrictions that also applied to the private sector or federal employers. The omission, the UCLA scholars say, means Congress never intended to tie the hands of state agencies on whom they can hire. An analyst at the state Senate’s judiciary committee also noted that Congress may be unable to dictate whom states can hire, because that undermines protections for states’ rights.

    Student advocates then persuaded the UC Board of Regents to consider adopting that legal theory so students without legal status could obtain campus jobs. But momentum for that policy stalled, culminating with the UC dropping the plan.

    Student voice

    Some students have found a way to work while enrolled despite the ban on campus jobs.

    Working without proper immigration status is not illegal, but employers cannot knowingly employ individuals who lack proper legal status, wrote University of Oklahoma law professor Kit Johnson in a 2022 law article. Employers often take advantage of the legal precarity of immigrants without legal status by paying them less than they’d earn with proper legal status.

    A legal workaround, she writes, is for such immigrants to form limited liability companies, or LLCs. That business structure makes them consultants hired for a job, as opposed to employees.

    Some students without legal status at the UC did just that, or they formed similarly structured cooperatives. But not every campus student can form an LLC or knows to do that.

    Is student data safe from federal inquiry?

    Backers of Solache’s bill and the Senate’s judiciary committee analysis say students without legal status employed at a campus aren’t at greater risk of immigration action despite concerns raised by skeptics of the proposed policy to hire them. The judiciary committee wrote that state agencies arguably aren’t required to verify employment eligibility for roles that aren’t funded by the federal government. They also say federal and state laws bar universities from sharing personal student information without that student’s consent.

    But public California universities have shared student and personnel information with the federal government under the Trump administration’s investigations into alleged campus antisemitism. Critics say the administration exploited antisemitism accusations to coerce campuses across the country into settlements that align with the conservative values of the White House. The Cal State system settled with staff and faculty unions after they sued over the disclosure of personal information, promising to alert workers before their information is released to federal authorities investigating antisemitism.

    Advocates of the bill also argue that the risk of apprehension and deportation is not reason enough to oppose it. Students understand the risk and that doesn’t change if they work legally or not.

    Bill addresses questions the appellate court wouldn’t

    As a result of the lawsuit students and advocates filed against the UC, the court sided with the plaintiffs because it found that the university’s employment policy discriminated against students based on their immigration status, which state law prohibits. It challenged the UC to provide an argument for why it thinks the federal government would go after the system for establishing this policy. Importantly, the court did not order the UC to begin hiring students without legal status.

    “The UC now has to either end the discrimination against undocumented students or defend its decision to do so by reference to federal law, neither of which it has done to date,” wrote Ahilan Arulanantham in an email. Arulanantham is one of the UCLA scholars behind the legal theory and a counsel in the plaintiffs’ lawsuit against the University of California.

    Omar Rodriguez, a UC spokesperson, wrote in an email that the "UC is evaluating its options in light of the court’s ruling and will take appropriate action when that evaluation has concluded.”

    “UC does not have a position on AB 713,” he added.

    This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.