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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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"We’re going to be imprisoned." One family’s experience in the Los Angeles ICE field office.
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Undocumented immigrants and mixed-status families are learning how to assert themselves — and prepare for worst-case scenarios.
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A two-week ban put Brook Haley's job in jeopardy.
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Officials want to give local flora and fauna a chance to bounce back after the Eaton Fire. They also want to protect hikers from danger.
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Borrowers who need to certify their employment have options.
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Students on at least six of the Cal State system’s 23 campuses have joined the growing hunger strike movement.
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Candidates will get free tuition, a mentor and a stipend.
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The relief is meant to help homes and businesses rebuild after the January fires.
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The Department of Cannabis Control has until this summer to establish new rules.
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Advocates want to improve access to grants, loans, scholarships and work study opportunities.
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College affordability experts weigh in on how to protect yourself from mismanagement and stay on track toward cancellation.
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The Trump administration and Congress have taken a series of actions that could greatly affect federal student loan borrowers.
