The Brief

For months, Minneapolis resident Michael Khalili drove around the Twin Cities area observing and documenting the activities of federal immigration officers after they swarmed his city last winter as part of an unprecedented surge.

He points out that when federal immigration officers fatally shot fellow Minneapolis observer Alex Pretti in January, it was bystander videos that debunked inaccurate information Trump administration officials were spreading about Pretti, such as that he had committed an act of domestic terrorism and was a "would-be assassin."

"That's the only reason why the government's lies fell apart," Khalili said. "And that's why it's critical that people are out there."

But the 47-year-old father of two stopped observing ICE in recent months due to mounting risk and pressure from his family. Khalili said he follows the law when he drives behind ICE vehicles and is exercising his constitutional rights. But he said he's had repeated tense exchanges with federal officers who have taken photos of him and his vehicle, and told him to stop.

A day after one such exchange in March, Khalili's Global Entry status was revoked (until a HuffPost journalist inquired about it, and it was reinstated). On another occasion in May, he said a state trooper threatened him with a harassment charge for following ICE. Then in June, after 15 Minnesota activists were criminally indicted for conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, Khalili realized one of the counts against a defendant in that case was for following ICE vehicles across state lines in May on the same day Khalili had been warned he could be charged for following ICE. Khalili's wife became worried.

"She was concerned that federal agents could show up at our home and could arrest me in front of our children," Khalili said. "And so I agreed to stop doing this."

But Khalili hasn't given up his quest to hold the federal government accountable. He is now a named plaintiff in a new federal lawsuit filed Thursday, along with the nonprofit Common Cause, that accuses the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the FBI and other federal agencies of violating the First Amendment and privacy rights of observers.

The new lawsuit follows a handful of other cases brought by observers arguing First Amendment violations, but it is the most sweeping to date, as it includes incidents from multiple states and seeks national relief. It is asking a judge in Washington, D.C. to bar federal agencies from intimidating or retaliating against observers.

"The right of citizens to criticize and hold our government accountable is the backbone of American democracy – and it is under attack," Common Cause's vice president for litigation, Maryam Jazini Dorcheh, told NPR. "We want to make sure we're promoting participation in the political process. And obviously, if government officials are criminalizing peaceful observation, that hinders our mission," Jazini Dorcheh said.

NPR has documented numerous instances of other people legally observing ICE describing intimidation and threats from the federal government. In Minnesota, it was a common occurrence for federal agents to tell observers they were breaking the law. NPR has previously covered how multiple activists in Maine were told by federal officers they could end up in a domestic terrorist database or on a watch list, and how a California man who runs an Instagram account tracking ICE activity was faced with an administrative subpoena seeking his identity.

NPR did not receive an immediate response from DHS or DOJ about the lawsuit's allegations. The FBI declined to comment.

The lawsuit describes disturbing encounters seven Common Cause members had with federal officers in Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey after trying to observe immigration enforcement. They include being photographed, followed, reported to police, pepper-sprayed or threatened with a visit to their home by federal officers. Federal officers did show up at one Common Cause member's Minnesota home.

Observers film as ICE agents leave a residence on Jan. 28, 2026 in Minneapolis. NPR has documented numerous instances of other people legally observing ICE, describing intimidation and threats from the federal government.

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In another instance, the suit alleges that ICE officers told local police to ban an unnamed Common Cause member from a public parking lot outside of an ICE facility in Maryland, where the member was observing, and told the member they knew who they were because they had put their face through a facial recognition database.

The 94-page complaint also draws from declarations filed in previous cases on behalf of observers in additional states, including Illinois, Maine and Tennessee.

The events described in the complaint are "not one-off activities. This is not about, like, 'Oh, some folks got out of hand in one place,'" said Danielle Lang, the vice president of voting rights and rule of law at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, which is litigating the case. "This is a top-down policy of retaliation and it needs to be addressed as such."

The lawsuit lists multiple directives from the Trump administration, including President Trump's National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) and the DOJ's memo to operationalize it, which link impeding immigration enforcement and extreme views on migration to domestic terrorism. The NSPM-7 memo was the basis for the federal government to investigate and spy on activists in Minnesota, which ultimately led to the charges against 15 people for conspiracy to impede ICE.

Additionally, the suit lists public statements and internal memos that equate observers who record federal officers with "violent rioters" and "domestic terrorists," to argue there is a national policy in place to retaliate against observers. Furthermore, the Trump administration repealed guardrails that could have prevented federal officers from using facial recognition and license plate readers against peaceful observers, and DHS dismantled its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the suit argues.

The suit alleges that the federal government's retaliation against observers includes threatening force or arrest, collecting observers' personal information to intimidate them, using force, pursuing criminal charges, and imposing civil penalties such as administrative subpoenas or revoking observers' Global Entry or TSA PreCheck status.

Michael Khalili was eager to join the Common Cause lawsuit to help fellow observers, since in his case there is documentation of some of his encounters.

"If the paper trail for the petty things that they did to me can keep somebody else from being pepper-sprayed or murdered, like, why would I not do that? How could I not do that?" he told NPR.

Last month he requested access to his state motor vehicle records on the number of times law enforcement officials have queried his license plate, driver's license or name and date of birth. Before he started observing, there were only two such queries. But since March 2026, law enforcement queried him 55 times, a detail that is included in the lawsuit.

In addition, he has a March email from Customs and Border Protection notifying him that his Global Entry membership was revoked. Though the email only stated that the reason given for the change was "Your Global Entry has been revoked," it came one day after ICE officers stopped him, took photos of him and his license plate and told him to stop following them. Other observers in other states have also had their Global Entry status taken away, and some, like Khalili, had theirs reinstated after a reporter inquired.

Khalili still suspects he is on a federal list of some kind, or that there is a flag on him. He recently went on vacation to Ireland with his family and when returning to the U.S, he was referred for additional questioning by U.S. immigration officials.

He hopes this lawsuit can help bring about corrective changes and guardrails after what he calls a "nightmare" that the country and Minneapolis have been through.

"And so that not only will I be able to go out and observe if I so choose, but that there's no reason why I have to go out and observe," Khalili said.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Casa Leo is a small Spanish restaurant located in Los Feliz near Griffith Park, where Chef Joshua Whigham is quietly bringing his own fresh approach to Spanish cooking — one that's specific and ingredient-driven in a way you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the city.

Whigham spent 15 years working under José Andrés — the Michelin-starred, James Beard Award-winning Spanish chef — before striking out on his own a little over a year ago with Casa Leo. The restaurant has already been added to the Michelin Guide California and has built a reputation for a seasonal, genuine, personal approach. That shows up across the menu, from cocas (Iberian flatbreads) to a trout en escabeche dish inspired by Martín Berasategui, the Basque chef often credited as a pioneer of modern Spanish cuisine.

Paella drop

One Sunday each month, Whigham hosts a "paella drop," cooking the paella outside the restaurant on a propane rig built to fit the giant pan he uses. Originally open to just 20 guests, the pop-up has grown in popularity as word has spread — Whigham has incrementally raised the cap over time, and now cooks with an even larger pan that can accommodate up to 70 guests.

It’s a setup that gets a lot of attention. He recalls a group of cyclists zipping by one day, with one of them yelling, "Holy shit, that smells good."

Chef Joshua Whigham stands beside the finished paella, cooked on a custom propane rig large enough to hold his oversized pan.

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"Paella is Spain's national dish," Whigham says — and for many Americans, it's the only regional dish they know by name. Most Americans picture one version of paella — chicken, shrimp, saffron-yellow rice — but the dish looks different depending on where in Spain you are. While the dish has roots in the southeastern region of Valencia, its ingredients and preparation vary widely throughout the country.

Showcasing that variety is one of Whigham’s aims. And he does it with strict adherence to tradition — he'll never include chorizo, since its heavy smoke and paprika flavors, he says, completely overpower the subtle, delicate taste of the saffron, broth and rice.

In August, the paella included market mushrooms, summer truffle, chicken and langoustine.

The next drop, on Sept. 20 (which just so happens to be World Paella Day), is a cuttlefish (sepia) paella.

Whigham wanted the drops to serve as an opportunity to activate the space in ways beyond regular brunch and dinner service.

Not a tourist menu

Whigham says people's exposure to Spanish cuisine often stops at gazpacho, jamón, and that one paella experience they had while studying abroad in college.

His approach, honed over almost two decades of cooking Spanish food, involves first surveying a dish's regional origins and then adapting it using Southern California ingredients, in a process Whigham calls "giving a traditional dish a sense of place."

"That's the path I'm on — taking traditional dishes and making them ours,” he adds.

A plated portion of Casa Leo's paella, served with a side of aioli and topped with edible flowers and microgreens.

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For example: marmitako, a humble Basque fisherman's dish traditionally made with tuna and potato, with a base consisting of tomato, bell pepper, red onion and fish stock. Whigham noticed poblano peppers were "exploding at the market" and swapped them in for the green bell peppers, using the same process and proportions — resulting in a richer tone, more of a capsicum flavor and a "nice low-key heat." Paired with the chili de árbol spice, it made the dish "warmer and richer and a little deeper in flavor."

Less than two years in, Whigham says the Michelin recognition was a lovely surprise. "We weren't looking for it," he says. "This is what I do. I don't know how to do anything else but this."

Still, he feels the weight of its importance: "A good restaurant, you feel it — the pulse of it, the heartbeat. That's what I want for people."

Voters in November will decide whether to make a sales tax increase, geared toward funding public safety, maintenance and youth programs, permanent.

In 2018, voters approved a 1.5% sales tax increase — dubbed Measure X. That rate was designed to decrease to 1% in 2029 before being eliminated in 2039. The tax provides more than $80 million in annual revenue. City officials said the tax dollars account for about 20% of the general fund.

LAist breaks down where those dollars have gone so far.

How much money has come in through the tax? 

The city has received nearly $500 million from the sales tax so far.

A large portion of the Measure X money — $166 million — went to “unrestricted” general revenue purposes. This is anything from building repairs and city events to arts programs and City Council aides.

The second-highest expense — sitting at nearly $123 million — went to public safety, which includes retaining firefighters and police officers.

Nearly $69 million falls under the third category called “Maintain Effective 9-1-1 Response,” and most of those dollars went to the Santa Ana Police Department.

About $57 million went toward addressing homelessness since 2019. Records show a large share of that money went to police response — about $48 million.

In the other categories, $14 million went to fix streets, $39 million to park maintenance and $12 million went to youth services.

You can find the full breakdown of Measure X dollars here.

General spending is the largest pot of money

Tim Johnson, chair of the Measure X Citizen Oversight Committee, said the tricky part of the sales tax is that it is general-purpose, unrestricted revenue, meaning the city can spend it however it sees best for residents.

“I don't know that all the voters understood that this truly is unrestricted revenue that's coming in though, and that's kind of probably the biggest issue,” Johnson told LAist. “The city, I think, is trying to do our best to let our residents know where the dollars are being spent. But it's a virtually impossible task to be able to track every single dollar that comes in and where it exactly is going because of this unrestricted general revenue.”

It’s especially an issue considering the ballot language led with firefighters, police, homelessness and youth — all categories that mean a lot to Santa Ana residents, Johnson added.

“That is the category that gets the bulk of this funding, and yet it was at probably the back end of most of our voters' [minds] when they were casting their ballot,” Johnson said. “And probably the same thing with the upcoming election. It's important to understand that this truly is unrestricted revenue.”

With this tax, he said, residents are putting a lot of trust in the City Council, city manager and finance department to be good fiduciaries of these funds.

“We're not only voting for the additional tax on ourselves, but we're voting to put our trust in the City Council that they're going to spend it wisely,” Johnson added.

Why it matters

Before the sales tax was approved in 2018, the city adopted a budget that required a $10 million dip in its reserves to maintain city services. At the time, the city was facing a growing structural deficit that, if ignored, could have ballooned to more than $30 million by 2020, according to city records.

Despite revenue generated from Measure X, the city has faced multimillion-dollar budget deficits in recent years.

This year, the city managed to close a $13 million deficit by making cuts across several departments, including police, public works, and parks and recreation.

Without the sales tax dollars, officials have warned that the city will have deeper cuts to make.

“The residents of Santa Ana have come to expect a certain level of service from the city that is largely dependent on Measure X dollars,” Mai Do, a Santa Ana resident and member of the Measure X Citizen Oversight Committee, told LAist. “So many of the services that we depend on and enjoy, including community improvements to parks and also library personnel, are funded through Measure X.”

Other cities, including Orange and San Clemente, are looking to voters for approval of their own sales tax measures to help bolster city coffers. Do said Santa Ana luckily is not panicking as much as other cities.

“Folks are expecting more from their local governments … in terms of providing services to everyone,” Do said. “When there's an expectation of having these services, cities need to be able to figure out how to actually meet that demand.”

What’s next? 

Santa Ana voters will be asked in November to make the sales tax permanent. If the measure fails, the tax rate will drop to 1% in 2029 as originally planned, meaning the city could miss out on about $30 million in revenue.

An astronaut who made news piloting a NASA spacecraft around the moon earlier this year is now planting his feet on the ground on the Central Coast.

Victor Glover is joining the executive staff at his alma mater, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He’ll serve as an advisor to the university’s president and help shape research programs.

Glover graduated from Cal Poly in 1999 with an engineering degree. He was also on the football and wrestling teams.

Glover also met his wife, Dionna, while attending the school. All four of their daughters graduated from, or are currently attending, Cal Poly.

Glover was a Navy fighter pilot who became an important part of America’s modern-day space program. He lived on the International Space Station for 168 days, flew the SpaceX Crew Dragon, and piloted NASA’s Artemis II lunar orbit mission earlier this year.

Glover recently retired from the Navy and NASA.