| For many Angelenos, this will be recalled as the summer ICE came to town. Platoons of camouflaged and masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have become the leitmotif of the Summer of '25. |
| So have media efforts to report exactly who is being arrested, and why. And there hasn't been a reporter more dogged and on target on that subject than Brittny Mejia of The Times. Sure, she's my colleague, but she's also a Pulitzer Prize finalist, for writing (along with Jack Dolan) about poor healthcare for the most vulnerable people in L.A. |
| Mejia doesn't accept the Official Story. From anyone. Precision has never been more important than in this time, when ICE and other federal agencies have been trafficking in generalities. They claim to solely target "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens." |
| At times, yes. But at many other times, the facts have shown ICE and its sister agencies have swept up others. Some led away in handcuffs merely overstayed their visas, or made the "mistake" of showing up for court hearings to try to comply with immigration laws. |
| Mejia and other Times stalwarts — such as Rachel Uranga, Ruben Vives and Melissa Gomez — know that specifics matter, not only to the people whose faces have been splashed across the mediaverse, but also to everyone who wants to know the truth about what our government is doing. |
| Many will recall the case of Brian Gavidia, one of those detained by federal agents in Montebello just a week after the raids began in early June. Video rocketed across the internet, showing the East L.A. native protesting as agents held him against a fence. |
| A day after Mejia reported on Gavidia's protests ("I'm American, bro!" he screamed at a camo-clad agent) the Department of Homeland Security still pumped out misleading information, saying, "The facts are a U.S. citizens was [sic] arrested because they ASSAULTED U.S. Border Patrol Agents." |
| Mejia peppered Homeland Security media boss Tricia McLaughlin with messages, insisting the agency provide specifics about Gavidia, not others. "When I got that statement, I immediately questioned it," Mejia told me, "because I interviewed Gavidia and he had not been arrested and also did not have any charges that I could find in the federal court system." |
| Only later did the immigration agency leadership acknowledge that it was Gavidia's friend, Javier Ramirez, who had been arrested. Authorities charged Ramirez with assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer. The case has since been dismissed, though it remains in a legal limbo that could end with charges being filed. |
| Gavidia, meanwhile, has joined a federal lawsuit over the tactics used against him and others. That case is still winding its way through the courts, where Mejia is following along closely. A federal judge has temporarily blocked agents from using racial profiling to make indiscriminate immigration arrests. |
| Though top spokesperson McLaughlin acknowledged fairly quickly that Gavidia was an American, that didn't mean the agency issued an apology. It did proceed to suggest on X that The Times had posted "FALSE headlines," adding, "DHS targets have nothing to do with an individual's skin color." But all The Times had reported was that some citizens had expressed concern about racial profiling. An indisputable fact. (Remember those?) |
| "I had people writing to me and telling me that I lied, all based on the DHS post," Mejia said, referring to a social media offering that didn't bother to make clear that Gavidia had committed no crime. |
| Two months later, Trump's immigration agents were at it again. Near an downtown L.A. event where Gov. Gavin Newsom was speaking, they arrested two men separately. Yet in their messaging about the busts, the feds didn't bother differentiating between the "two illegal aliens," saying they included "an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member and narcotics trafficker." |
| Mejia got the authorities to acknowledge that one of those arrested, Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios, had committed no crime. He had never been connected to a gang. Minguela — who had been delivering strawberries that August day to a downtown cafe — merely had overstayed his visa. That's a civil offense, not a crime, a fact Mejia told the public, something immigration authorities hadn't bothered to say. |
| "We work hard to get the full picture of what unfolds during these raids and who ends up arrested," said Mejia, who grew up in a military family and tends to say "please" and "thank you," even when she's pushing hard. "When DHS or ICE has asked for more time in order to get details of an operation or arrest, we have given it to them. That's all done to provide a full picture of what occurred." |
| "I put a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request in for body camera footage of the Gavidia arrest and have yet to receive it," Mejia said. "I still have a lot of outstanding questions that remain. Among them is, which Border Patrol agent took Gavidia's Real ID? Also, why was it never returned to him?" |
| Minguela, a father of three, has been moved to Arizona and is due to make a court appearance Tuesday. You can be sure — in this summer of fire and ICE — that Mejia and my other colleagues will remain on that story, and all the others. |
Today's top stories |
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| Gov. Gavin Newsom, shown in Los Angeles in 2021, has announced a new health-related pact with the governors of Oregon and Washington. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) |
California pushes back on Trump's CDC with West Coast Health Alliance |
- California, Oregon and Washington are joining forces to insulate vaccine guidance and other public health recommendations from political interference.
- Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Tina Kotek of Oregon and Bob Ferguson of Washington announced Wednesday the creation of the West Coast Health Alliance, a pact that aims to keep their states' health policies unified and grounded in scientific expertise.
- The move comes as the nation's top public health agency is being reshaped by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his vaccine-skeptic allies, with key leadership fired and the agency in turmoil.
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UC warns of billions in funding losses beyond UCLA in Trump battle |
- The University of California's top leader has raised the "distinct possibility" that financial losses due to the Trump administration's funding cuts could amount to billions of dollars and extend beyond UCLA to the entire 10-campus system.
- Already, more than $500 million in federal grants have been suspended at UCLA. The government is asking for $1.2 billion to restore them.
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Online sleuths or streaming ghouls? Baby Emmanuel case unleashes army of internet vigilantes |
- In the last couple of weeks, the case of missing 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro has been a clarion call for independent journalists, online sleuths, and criminal case followers, some traveling across the country to California to chronicle developments.
- Online internet sleuths often pick apart the trickle of information being released by authorities, often filling in the holes with rumor, speculation and innuendo.
- It's gotten so bad that at a recent news conference, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco called out so-called keyboard warriors who are following the case and sharing unverified updates or spreading misinformation.
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Humanity is rapidly depleting water and much of the world is getting drier |
- New research based on 22 years of satellite data shows vast areas of the world are losing fresh water and getting drier.
- Scientists are seeing "mega-drying" regions that are immense and expanding — one stretching from the western United States through Mexico to Central America, and another from Morocco to France, across the entire Middle East to northern China.
- There are two primary causes: rising temperatures unleashed by using oil and gas, and widespread overpumping of water that took millennia to accumulate underground.
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What else is going on |
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Commentary and opinions |
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This morning's must reads |
| | | A $2 billion tunnel has been proposed to bypass "Last Chance Grade" — a landslide-plagued portion of Highway 101 in rural Northern California. | | | |
Other must reads |
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| Keep up with California | Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. | | | | | |
For your downtime |
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| Line dancing at Eastwood in Los Angeles. (Maggie Shannon / For The Times) |
Going out |
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Staying in |
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A question for you: What fall TV shows are you most excited for? |
| Leah B. writes, "The TV show I can't wait to watch the new season of is 'Will Trent.' It's the best show on TV right now, it's got it all — suspense, laughs, surprises, emotions and the characters are all multifaceted and interesting. Just love this show!!!!" |
| Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. |
And finally ... from our archives |
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| Grammy and Emmy winner Kelly Clarkson is photographed in 2020 on the Universal Studios lot, where her show, "The Kelly Clarkson Show," was filmed. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) |
| On Sept. 4, 2002, Kelly Clarkson became the first winner of "American Idol." |
| The Times' Greg Braxton wrote about Clarkson's win, where she beat out runner-up Justin Guarini by 58% in a viewer poll that registered more than 15 million calls after a singing showdown between the two. |
Have a great day, from the Essential California team |
| Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
| How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com. |
