The Brief

As people who had left Islam to convert to Christianity, America offered Liam Azizi and wife Hananeh Alikaram a safe space to practice their faith, making their treacherous journey across 11 countries from Iran to the US-Mexico border worth it.

But now they’re caught in the cross hairs of a Trump administration that’s willing to break couples and families up.

Leaving Islam in Iran is a crime, but only Azizi was offered asylum and has since settled in Sun Valley. Now, with Alikaram’s request for asylum denied, she’s being held in Louisiana awaiting deportation back to Iran, where she faces prosecution.

“ I was in the home church, because in Iran you cannot go to the church directly. It's forbidden for people, ordinary people,” Azizi told LAist. “ Some neighbor called the police or force and they came to our house and they captured us. They beat me.”

Liam Azizi and Hananeh Alikaram.

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Courtesy Liam Azizi

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LAist has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

Paulina Reyes-Perrariz, managing attorney with Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said when a family seeks asylum, their cases are typically connected. But with the current administration, she said we are seeing enforcement of family separation policies.

“ This speaks a lot on how the system is broken, how there is no full and fair asylum hearings all the time,” Reyes-Perrariz said. “If the family is separated, they're not able to call on them as a witness or they're not able to relay their story that can help their family member.”

The first Trump tenure was marked by children separated from their parents at the border. In the second term, she said, there has been “a biased enforcement” of separating children from parents for some nationalities.

“ What we need now is comprehensive immigration reform. What we're seeing is like this family where the system is working against them,” she said. “Someone that has been fleeing persecution was able to show that they do meet the standard as an asylee because of their harm suffered in their home country. How is it that one person was able to show that and their family member wasn't?”

Liam Azizi and Hananeh Alikaram.

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Courtesy Liam Azizi

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Azizi ran a website where people could connect with prayer services in Iran, but that was shut down. Alikaram used to post YouTube videos, but because she didn’t have a headscarf on, the government shut it down. Now, the couple have a pending court case in Iran because they converted to Christianity. Azizi is worried that if Alikaram is deported, she could be killed.

The young couple’s case is playing out against the backdrop of an immigration crackdown, driven by promises President Donald Trump made on the campaign trail. And in Iran, spurred by rising inflation after sanctions were reimposed by the United Nations, thousands of people have been protesting the current regime for weeks. Outside observers say hundreds of people have been killed, sparking international condemnation.

“ This is one of those situations where both the left and the right should be supportive,” said Kevin Kang,  pastor at Tujunga United Methodist Church and Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church and a member of CLUE or Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice.

Fleeing religious persecution 

Kang said he has encountered a handful of Iranians who have fled religious persecution in Iran and are seeking a safe haven in the U.S.

His church is currently providing shelter, converting a room to house refugees who fled Iran and were in the midst of their asylum journeys when they were detained by ICE agents, meaning - they had to restart their cases.

 ”So, you know, it's not just people getting detained at the border. It's people who legitimately got approved for asylum and then ICE decided to take them anyway,” Kang said.

The current crackdown on immigration, he said, is not just about closing the borders, “it’s about race and tribalism.”

Some of the refugees from Iran have spoken out to church members sharing the horrific journeys they had to endure to come to America, navigating forests in Panama and the drug cartels in Mexico.

“Some of our members who did vote for Trump because of the border issue, they even flipped where they were like, ‘I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how hard it is to get into our country like this, and how unjust the system is,’” Kang said.

For Azizi, the journey started in Brazil.

“ We could have been killed on that journey because it was full of cartels, full of danger. I saw a dead body in a Panama jungle in the Darien Gap,” he said.

The Darien Gap is a 60-mile pathless hike through dense rainforest and the only overland passage between South and Central America.

And now, that journey could have been futile for Alikaram as she awaits her fate in Louisiana.

“It's so, so hard and it's heartbreaking,” Azizi said. “For a 32-year-old man, it's very difficult to cry every night. But I'm crying.”

We're going to wake up to a chilly and cloudy morning, courtesy of yesterday's winter storm. There's still a chance that some light snow will dust lower elevations, including the Grapevine for this morning.

Once the sun moves in, temperatures will warm up to mid-50s to around 60 degrees from the coasts to the valleys. The Inland Empire could see frost and dense fog in the morning, followed by temperatures from 50 to 57 degrees.

The warmest area will be the Coachella Valley, where highs will reach up to 66 degrees. Meanwhile in the Antelope Valley, it's going to feel crisp with daytime highs from 41 degrees to 50 degrees.

Eric Dane, the celebrated actor best known for his roles on "Grey's Anatomy" and "Euphoria" and who later in life became an advocate for ALS awareness, died Thursday. He was 53.

His representatives said Dane died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known also as Lou Gehrig's disease, less than a year after he announced his diagnosis.

"He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world," said a statement that requested privacy for his family. "Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight. He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he's received."

Dane developed a devoted fanbase when his big break arrived in the mid-2000s: He was cast as Dr. Mark Sloan, aka McSteamy, on the ABC medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," a role he would play from 2006 until 2012 and reprise in 2021.

Although his character was killed off on the show after a plane crash, Dane's character left an indelible mark on the still-running show: Seattle Grace Hospital became Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

In 2019, he did a complete 180 from the charming McSteamy and became the troubled Cal Jacobs in HBO's provocative drama "Euphoria," a role he continued in up until his death.

Dane also starred as Tom Chandler, the captain of a U.S. Navy destroyer at sea after a global catastrophe wiped out most of the world's population, in the TNT drama "The Last Ship." In 2017, production was halted as Dane battled depression.

In April 2025, Dane announced he had been diagnosed with ALS, a progressive disease that attacks nerve cells controlling muscles throughout the body.

ALS gradually destroys the nerve cells and connections needed to walk, talk, speak and breathe. Most patients die within three to five years of a diagnosis.

Dane became an advocate for ALS awareness, speaking a news conference in Washington on health insurance prior authorization. "Some of you may know me from TV shows, such as 'Grey's Anatomy,' which I play a doctor. But I am here today to speak briefly as a patient battling ALS," he said in June 2025. In September of that year, the ALS Network named Dane the recipient of their advocate of the year award, recognizing his commitment to raising awareness and support for people living with ALS.

Dane was born on Nov. 9, 1972, and raised in Northern California. His father, who the actor said was a Navy veteran and an architect, died of a gunshot wound when Dane was 7. After high school, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, landing guest roles on shows like "Saved by the Bell," "Married...With Children," "Charmed" and "X-Men: the Last Stand," and one season of the short-lived medical drama "Gideon's Crossing."

A memoir by Dane is scheduled to be published in late 2026. "Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments" will be released by Maria Shriver's The Open Field, a Penguin Random House imprint. According to Open Field, Dane's memoir covers key moments in his life, from his first day at work on "Grey's Anatomy" to the births of his two daughters and learning that he had ALS.

"I want to capture the moments that shaped me — the beautiful days, the hard ones, the ones I never took for granted — so that if nothing else, people who read it will remember what it means to live with heart," Dane said in a statement about the book. "If sharing this helps someone find meaning in their own days, then my story is worth telling."

Dane is survived by his wife, actor Rebecca Gayheart, and their two teen daughters, Billie Beatrice and Georgia Geraldine. Gayheart and Dane wed in 2004 and separated in September 2017. Gayheart filed for divorce in 2018, but later filed to dismiss the petition. In a December essay for New York magazine's The Cut reflecting on Dane's diagnosis, Gayheart called their dynamic "a very complicated relationship, one that's confusing for people." She said they never got a divorce, but dated other people and lived separately.

"Our love may not be romantic, but it's a familial love," she said. "Eric knows that I am always going to want the best for him. That I'm going to do my best to do right by him. And I know he would do the same for me. So whatever I can do or however I can show up to make this journey better for him or easier for him, I want to do that."
Copyright 2026 NPR

A new analysis finds Black children are less likely to enroll in transitional kindergarten than white children.

Only 60% of eligible Black children in the state enrolled in TK compared to 68% of eligible white children in the 2024-25 school year, according to an analysis of state education data by the advocacy group EdTrust-West.

This despite officials praising the rollout of the new grade as a way to increase equity and opportunity.

“We’ve seen that the lack of support in and training in ensuring that there are culturally affirming spaces for children has been a barrier to children of color receiving equitable access to TK,” said Natalie Wheatfall-Lum, director of TK-12 policy at EdTrust-West.

California requires every school district to offer TK to all 4-year olds, but uptake in the free preschool program has been uneven.

EdTrust-West looked at parent survey data from the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, and found Black parents and caregivers were most likely to list wanting to keep their kids in their current child care arrangement as the primary reason they don’t enroll their child in TK.

A quarter of Black families also said that TK hours do not cover the hours they’re at work.

The preschool workforce is also much more diverse than the TK-12 system, Wheatfall-Lum pointed out. And she said that there’s mistrust among families because Black children have faced disproportionate discipline in the public school system.

“ TK sets the tone for a child's school experience. It's the entry point for school for young children,” she said. “ There's a lot of hesitancy and there's a lack of feelings of safety and having their little 4-year-olds enter what can be, and what has historically been, a hostile environment for Black families in particular.”

The findings in uptake mirror other research that found that the introduction of the universal program hasn’t increased participation among children from underrepresented communities. A study last year found that enrollment has grown fastest among middle to upper-income neighborhoods in the state.

Like many people in the Twin Cities, Jess has been observing ICE officers: following them in her car and documenting their actions. Earlier this month, she was in North Minneapolis, when immigration agents told her and another observer they were impeding a federal investigation.

"We followed at a distance. We never got in front of them. We never honked our horns. We never made any sort of noise. We were just keeping an eye on them," said Jess, who requested NPR only use her first name because she fears retaliation from the federal government.

She says she kept tracking the officers at a distance. But then the three vehicles she was following turned around and drove toward her. Federal agents hopped out.

"They all had their guns drawn. I kept saying, 'What you're doing is illegal. You have no right to do this,'" she said. "At that point, they started breaking my window. All I could think about was not being shot."

One officer shattered her driver's side window with a baton. At that, she opened the door. The agents pulled her out and handcuffed her. She was detained for about eight hours.

Now, Jess is waiting to see whether the federal government is going to charge her with a crime for observing its actions. She is not the only person in that position. NPR spoke with several other observers in Minnesota who said immigration officers told them they were impeding federal investigations.

Jess, a resident of a Minneapolis suburb who has been legally observing ICE activity, told NPR that officers smashed her car window and detained her for hours.

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Meg Anderson

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NPR

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'Perfectly lawful conduct'

Increasingly, the Trump administration is attempting to criminalize the actions of people tracking and observing its immigration officers, using one particular federal statute: a law that makes it illegal to forcibly impede or interfere with a federal officer.

"While the Trump administration supports everyone's First Amendment right to freedom of speech and assembly and to petition, it has to be done lawfully and peacefully because we will not tolerate unlawful actions committed by agitators who are just causing havoc," White House border czar Tom Homan said in a Feb. 12 press conference announcing plans to end the enforcement surge in Minnesota.

Homan pointed out, accurately, that "forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating or interfering with a federal law enforcement officer is a crime." But legal experts say that's not what observers are doing.

"A lot of the activities that the government is claiming are interfering or obstructing, in the vast majority of those examples, they're engaged in perfectly lawful conduct," says Scarlet Kim, a senior staff attorney with the Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at the ACLU, which is suing the administration for violating the First Amendment rights of protesters and observers in Minnesota.

At least three dozen people who gave statements under oath in the ACLU lawsuit said that while observing immigration activity, federal officers told them they were impeding or interfering with an investigation, or that what they were doing was illegal.

It is legal to observe and record officers and shout, whistle or honk at them. Following them in a car at a safe distance is also legal, Kim told NPR.

There are limits: Stepping into an officer's way or touching an officer are more likely to cross the line from observing to impeding, for instance. But that line also depends on the circumstances. Recording an officer from 20 feet away could be different than doing so from 2 feet away. Yelling at an officer may be okay, but it could also depend on what a person is saying.

Trainings for legal observers led by organizations like the Immigrant Defense Network in Minnesota advise people to stay a safe distance away and avoid any physical contact with immigration officers.

"People want to know exactly where the line is. But I think that's distracting from the fact that the vast majority of cases don't even come close to that line," Kim said.

She says the administration's animosity to people documenting its immigration enforcement activity is clear: "I think that's really rooted in their desire to keep what they're doing as secret as possible."

Seth Stoughton, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, said people film and watch local police all the time, and federal officers are no different in that regard, even if they'd rather not have observers present.

"The question is not, 'Is it annoying or frustrating to the officer?' The question is, 'Is that annoyance or frustration constitutionally protected?'" Stoughton said. "Criticism of government actions are at the very core of what the First Amendment protects."

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to NPR's request for comment.

 'Gross intimidation'

Beyond the initial arrests, the federal government is so far having more of a challenge in prosecuting the cases it has brought against observers during its immigration crackdowns.

In Los Angeles, a federal judge recently rejected the government's argument that protesters who were tracking federal officers during the surge there had met the bar for interfering.

In Chicago, court records show most of the people arrested for impeding during several months of that city's enforcement surge were released without charges. Of those who faced charges like impeding or assaulting officers, many of the cases have been dismissed.

"It shows what will happen in Minneapolis six months from now," says Steve Art, an attorney with the law firm Loevy + Loevy in Chicago. In Minnesota, federal prosecutors have already walked back or dismissed charges in more than a dozen cases.

Art, who represented plaintiffs in a recently dismissed lawsuit that alleged federal agents violated the First Amendment rights of journalists and protesters in Illinois, says even if a charge is dismissed, the notion that the government has deemed you a criminal can be a "terrorizing mechanism."

That fear often begins during the interaction with ICE officers, long before charges are ever filed.

"They're resorting to gross intimidation," said Will Stancil, a civil rights lawyer based in Minneapolis, who has also been told he is impeding investigations while following immigration agents around.

He says immigration officers have taken his photograph, particularly when Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol officer previously in charge of the operation in Minnesota, was present.

"I would go up to them and give them my name and address, and I'd say, 'What I'm doing is legal. And if you believe it's illegal, come arrest me. And I suspect you will not,'" Stancil says. "It's not just bravado. It's that I think it's important to demonstrate that these are bluffs, that they're trying to frighten us, but they don't actually have the authority to do it."

Stancil has been public about following immigration officers, but he understands why others might feel intimidated. He has had officers lead him back to his own home twice. Once, he was with other people and laughed it off.

"The other one was much scarier because it was me and there were three ICE cars that surrounded me and they led me back to my house," he said. "That was just me alone. And, you know, I was frightened. I didn't know what was going to happen."

Those in-the-moment interactions scare him more than any potential legal repercussions. After all, he says, two people have been killed by federal agents in his city while doing what he has been doing: watching and filming.

Copyright 2026 NPR