We examine the events following the executive orders on immigration, we look at the history of immigration in California, and reactions from LA's Iranian community.
How California has helped shape US refugee policy
California has often played a special role in helping to shape the nation's immigration policy. That's also the case when it comes to refugees.
"California has had a distinct impact on refugee policy," said Kevin Johnson, Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies at UC Davis. "California, because it receives so many immigrants and refugees has been a big player and a big leader when it comes to immigration."
A Martínez spoke with Kevin Johnson of UC Davis. To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above.
'Right intentions, but ill-planned': SoCal Republicans divided over Trump immigration order
President Trump put pen to paper several times last week, to fulfill promises made on the campaign trail. Several of his executive orders have sparked condemnation from Democrats. But one action, signed late Friday, has Republicans divided along ideological lines.
The order suspends refugee admissions for 120 days and prohibits travel from seven countries for 90. For Trump loyalists, like Mike Simpfenderfer, it's welcome news:
"Mr. Trump spent many months making it very clear [that] we have some serious problems with people coming in from different parts of the world that support terrorism and he was going to take action," Simpfenderfer told Take Two.
A longtime Trump supporter, Simpfenderfer now leads the advocacy group "Make California Great Again."
Simpfenderfer says Trump's decision was a wise one, despite the fact that the perpetrators of the attacks that Trump often cited as motivating factors for the suspension — the San Bernardino attacks, the Orlando club massacre and 9/11 — would not have been prevented from entering the country under his order.
All Republicans don't share the sentiments of Simpfenderfer. Mary Perez, a Republican who has long opposed what Trump stands for, took a different view on Trump's order:
"[It] might have been with the right intentions of providing national security to us, I think, though, it was ill-planned, and he should have consulted members of Congress first," Perez says.
Mary Perez is the vice president of the USC College Republicans. She says Trump's executive order doesn't reflect the values of her party, and that it could have greater repercussions going forward:
"What this executive order seems to do is propagate the US in a war against Islam, which is something that we absolutely don't want," Perez says.
She adds that the order could damage the image of Republicans and the US as a whole.
"It doesn't reflect well on us. It really devalues our international credibility with other nations and our foreign diplomacy," Perez says.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
The legal questions raised by President Trump's executive order
On Friday, President Trump signed into action an executive order which bars all refugees for 120 days and imposes a travel ban from seven predominantly Muslim nations for 90 days. Almost immediate there was confusion...and protests.
This issue has also raised a lot of legal questions: how far does the President's authority reach when it comes to refugee policy?
What are the possible legal challenges to the executive order?
And how will the ban play out over the days and weeks to come?
To help us break it all down, A Martinez spoke with Hiroshi Motomura. He's a law professor at UCLA, author of a number of books about immigration and citizenship.
To hear the full segment, click the blue play button above.
Among LA's Iranian community: anxiety, chaos after Trump order
As President Trump's executive order limiting refugees and banning travel from certain countries abroad prompted confusion at airports and rallies in multiple cities, L.A.'s sizeable Iranian community voiced anxiety over the rapid developments.
"They're worried about their families," said Siamak Kalhour, a host on KIRN 670 am, Radio Iran LA. "They're worried about their connections, businesses, going back [to Iran] and coming."
Kalhour said during his live show Sunday, he received call after call of listeners expressing concern about the new travel restrictions.
"But I think the biggest fear in the Iranian community is the future," said Kalhour. "They see these [changes to immigration policy] as a signal of retaliation."
A Martínez spoke with Siamak Kalhour. To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above.
On the Lot: Hollywood piles on against Trump travel ban
“I’m an American patriot. And I love this country"
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss was the first to accept an award at the Screen Actors Guild annual ceremony, and she set the tone for the evening.
Taking the stage after being honored for her work on the TV series Veep, she noted her father was an immigrant, and went on to add, "because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes, and this immigrant ban is a blemish, and it is un-American.”
That was the beginning of a night when almost every award recipient took the time to add remarks of protest to the order President Trump signed on Friday.
Saturday night, the Producers Guild held its awards dinner, and the scene was much the same. Speeches were lighter on the laundry list of thank-you's, and almost all contained some words of criticism for the President's action.
While that may not be surprising, given that many in Hollywood have long records of supporting human rights, Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan says it also reflects the global nature of the film and television business. It's an industry where talent comes together from all parts of the world, and like the technology sector, limits on travel are seen as a stumbling block to both creativity and the ability to get the job done.
Click on the blue bar to hear the full conversation with Rebecca Keegan.
Venus and Serena Williams portray domination and inspiration
On Saturday two of the biggest sports icons from Southern California went face to face across the net: Compton's own Serena and Venus Williams.
It was the first time in 14 years that the Williams Siblings played for an Australian Open Title.
After a heavily contested match, Serena beat her sister 6-4 to claim her 23rd Tennis Grand Slam Championship.
As she accepted her trophy, Serena was gracious to her older sister. "I really would like to take this moment to congratulate Venus," She said. "She's an amazing person. There's no way I would be at 23 [championships] without her. There's no way I would be at one without her."
"I was kind of rooting for Venus, hoping she could get to number eight, but, Serena did what she need to do in order to get to 23. ," LeGeorge Mauldin said.
Mauldin grew up with the sisters, playing tennis on the courts in and around their hometown. He always admired how hard they played the game "Out here you have to be intense to become a tennis player, not only in the pros but also as a junior player playing in Southern California."
As the Williams continue to dominate the sport of tennis, Mauldin continues their legacy here in Southern California. He's an assistant coach at the Venus and Serena Williams Tennis Tutorial Academy near Culver City.
Two of his students are sister Katrina and Hannah Smith, 12 and 10.
While they're young, Katrina is very familiar with the most famous siblings in tennis.
"Since I first started watching the tennis matches I admired them and I always look out for them whenever I watch major tennis tournaments," Katrina said.
Hannah thought that Saturday's match-up was, "interesting because I knew they were sisters and I was going to see if they kind of made mistakes and if they knew each other's weaknesses in tennis so I'd see if they'd use that."
The Williams sister's dominance has been called the ultimate sibling rivalry. But Mauldin is hesitant to identify it that way. "I think it's called just pushing one another," He said. "The younger sister pushing the big sister, the big sister teaching the younger sister on what to do when to do it how to do it, things like that."
Mauldin believes that learning to play tennis at the Williams Academy can set students up for success. But that doesn’t always mean being an international superstar.
"I tell the kids, 'Look, we're not out here to try and make everyone go pro. If you want to go pro great, but let's try to get a tennis scholarship.' It's different avenues you can take just by playing this game of tennis of ours,"
That’s all well and good… but Hannah has her own plan that was inspired by Venus and Serena.
"I want to grow up to be as good as them and if not maybe even better," Hannah said.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above.
Answers have been edited for clarity.