Leslie Berestein Rojas
Emerging Communities Editor (she/her/ella)My focus is on our coverage of L.A.’s communities of color and immigrant diasporas. Before this, I spent 10 years covering immigrant communities for KPCC.
When I was a kid, my family left Cuba and landed in Huntington Park. I grew up there, speaking Spanish at home and steeped in Southeast L.A.’s beautiful Latinidad. I love telling the stories of L.A. and its people. Now, I get to help shape those stories and work with talented reporters to hone their craft.
I’ve also covered immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border, reported stories in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and done lots more for large newspapers and national magazines.
Among the things I love about L.A.: family, food from everywhere, signs in dozens of languages, the smells of chaparral and dusty freeways, the downtown skyline as you cross a bridge from the east. Mostly, I love that it’s home.
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Transportation and Mobility
The extended deadline is now May 3, 2023, for U.S. citizens to show a federally approved document, such as a REAL ID or a passport, in order to board a domestic flight. -
News
The U.S. Census Bureau has announced it will complete the 2020 census count a month earlier than planned, with the new deadline to end door-knocking and self-response set for September 30, instead of Oct. 31. In-person canvassing doesn't even start in L.A. County until August 11.
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What does the rule mean to Californians and Angelenos? We have some answers.
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Thousands of L.A.-area kids are no longer enrolled in the CalFresh food stamp program. The program's "child only" category tends to draw families with parents who lack legal status.
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I'm working to deepen your understanding of how immigrants are changing the region and how L.A. changes immigrants.
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The candidates will address questions from moderators and from invited audience members, including immigrants and activists.
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Officials say more families seeking asylum have strained capacity, and that some are being transferred to California from points east. Bus station drop-offs have become common elsewhere, but advocates say it's the first time they've seen it so close to L.A.
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Food
Some street vendors who cheered the council's move back in November are now worrying about whether they'll be able to afford the cost of operating legally. Others are upset about new no-vending zones.
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Being part of L.A.'s small Eritrean community is "like having a second family," said one teenager.
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Hate groups are using softer sounding messages, and don't present like skinheads with swastikas. But experts say it's the "same people, same ideology."
