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Julia Barajas
What I cover
I strive to bring nuance and context to the issue of immigration, which is often cast as a competition for limited resources or a concern for public safety.
Beholden to no political party, I document the impact of federal immigration policy on Southern California communities—including U.S. citizens of color—while holding our government accountable. My coverage centers human suffering and resilience, with an emphasis on how communities are taking collective action in response to this evolving landscape.
My background
I’ve covered a broad range of issues for English and Spanish-language news media—everything from environmental injustice to the arts. Most recently, I was LAist’s higher education reporter. My work has been recognized by the California News Publishers Association, the Los Angeles Press Club, the Press Club of Atlantic City, and the Society for Features Journalism.
My goals
I pledge to reflect SoCal’s economic, ethnic, racial, and linguistic diversity in my reporting. This means making it a point to include people who speak Armenian, Arabic, Farsi, Khmer, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Zapotec, and all the other beautiful languages in the place we call home—while acknowledging that Tongva is the first language of this land.
How to contact me
If you or your community have been affected by federal immigration policy, I want to know about it. Also, if you have ideas about stories I should be covering, I welcome your thoughts. You can reach out by email. I'm at jbarajas@laist.com. Or, if you have a tip you’d like to share more privately, you can reach me on Signal. My username is @jbarajas.68.
Stories by Julia Barajas
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Education Department says issues are fixed, begs remaining students to submit.
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The city council wants greater transparency in how millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent to address L.A.'s unhoused crisis.
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The Men of Color Action Network's annual conference gives students and professionals a chance to share resources and rethink higher ed.
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Even if your old grades are not stellar, you can still move forward with your academic goals.
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A program at East Los Angeles College pushes students to think critically about how museums shape our views and how to make them more inclusive.
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Across the country, transfer rates remain bleak. Here’s how UCLA’s Scholars Program is working to change that.
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The famous and pesky “ankle biters” are back after a couple months of record rain. Plus, how you can mosquito-proof your surroundings.
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At Los Angeles City College, students turn toward financial literacy to chart a new path.
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Rain can make some allergens more potent, and it’s not just pollen you have to worry about.
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Ohtani said he has never bet on sports and that his former interpreter had been stealing from his account.
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Because of delays at the federal level, some colleges are still waiting to receive financial aid information from the U.S. Department of Education.
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As the U.S. Department of Education continues to fix its glitchy website, state lawmakers want to give students more time to complete their FAFSA forms.
