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The Trump administration’s sudden freeze on all visa and asylum decisions for Afghan immigrants has left many of them in Orange County — one of the country's largest hubs for Afghans — in limbo. Local groups are preparing to support the immigrants even as they await clarification from federal authorities.
California is home to the nation’s largest concentration of Afghan immigrants, many of them now grappling with the Trump administration’s abrupt visa and asylum freeze.... to learn more about the Afghan population in Orange County and guidance from one O.C. immigration official on what could come next.California is home to the nation’s largest concentration of Afghan immigrants, many of them now grappling with the Trump administration’s abrupt visa and asylum freeze.by the White House followed the fatal shooting of a National Guard member in Washington, D.C. a couple days earlier by a suspect who had immigrated from Afghanistan. In Orange County, where many Afghans have settled as their immigration applications pend, local officials are gearing up to help them navigate the change, even as guidance is scant from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Jose Serrano, director of Orange County's Office of Refugee and Immigrant Services, said the goal is to provide the “most up-to-date information so they can continue on towards their pathway towards citizenship here in the United States.” “The Afghan population in Southern California, specifically in Orange County, is one that is really important to the DNA of who we are,” Serrano said. “Let's continue to stay together and strong and reimagine a place for belonging for everyone.”stay on top of updates from USCIS and the Department of Homeland SecurityHundreds of Afghan households have settled in Orange County, Serrano said, placing it alongside the San Diego and Sacramento areas as one of the state’s hubs for Afghan immigrants. Serrano said a big draw for immigrants to Orange County is Little Arabia in Anaheim, a regional destination for Middle Eastern food, culture, and community life. Serrano, who spent more than a decade working with immigrants at World Relief Southern California and the state's refugee programs bureau, said entering Afghan homes means being offered large meals. One family had prepared a whole feast for a Time Warner cable worker, he recalled. “They didn't understand why that person couldn’t stay to dine with them,” he said. “That’s the type of people that are here in Orange County, folks who are so committed to being a part of civic engagement, to connecting alongside other communities.”Serrano said many of the Afghans who resettled in the county are Special Immigrant Visa holders, a program created for Afghan nationals who helped the U.S. government during the war in their home country.Serrano said immigrants who entered the U.S. as refugees and have since become green card holders could see their cases reopened.For Serrano, the current screening process is rigorous and involves multiple organizations aside from USCIS such as the U.S. Department of Justice, the F.B.I. and counterterrorist organizations.“They're constantly doing an assessment to verify that you are a good standing citizen,” Serrano said. ““One of the things that I think we should be very proud of within the United States is that there is an in-depth screening process for anyone who is seeking a protection.”Four people were killed and 10 wounded in a shooting during a family gathering at a banquet hall in Stockton, sheriff's officials said Saturday.Early indications"suggest this may have been a targeted incident," Brent said during a news conference at the scene. Local officials said the suspected shooter has not been caught and pleaded with the public for help. Detectives were still working to identify a possible motive.STOCKTON, Calif. — Four people were killed and 10 wounded in a shooting during a family gathering at a banquet hall in Stockton, sheriff's officials said Saturday. The victims included both children and adults, said Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County sheriff's office. Early indications"suggest this may have been a targeted incident," Brent said during a news conference at the scene. Local officials said the suspected shooter has not been caught and pleaded with the public for help. Detectives were still working to identify a possible motive. "If you have any information as to this individual, reach out immediately. If you are this individual, turn yourself in immediately," San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said during a news conference. The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. inside the banquet hall, which shares a parking lot with other businesses. Stockton is a city of 320,000 about 40 miles south of Sacramento. "Families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive," Mayor Christina Fugazzi said. Authorities did not immediately provide additional information about the conditions of the victims. Officials said earlier that several were taken to hospitals.In a handful of California’s deep blue districts, an intra-party battle over the future of the Democratic Party is brewing in the wake of grim losses during last year’s presidential race.In Sacramento, Napa County and Los Angeles, three younger challengers are arguing that Democrats need to give voters fresh faces with bold new ideas to energize the party’s base, rather than aging incumbents who are entrenched more in Washington insider culture than in their districts.The recent retirements of Nancy Pelosi and other longtime House Democrats have led to more calls for aging members to pass the torch. Incumbents argue their experience is crucial as the executive branch is upending the balance of power in Washington.California’s battleground House districts might get the lion’s share of national attention for their role in deciding which party rules Congress’s lower chamber. But in a handful of California’s deep blue districts, an intra-party battle over the future of the Democratic Party is brewing in the wake of grim losses during last year’s presidential race. In Sacramento, Napa County and Los Angeles, three younger challengers are arguing that Democrats need to give voters fresh faces with bold new ideas to energize the party’s base, rather than aging incumbents who are entrenched more in Washington insider culture than in their districts. “Status quo politics isn’t going to protect our communities,” said Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 40, who is running against 10-term Rep. Doris Matsui, 81. “We need leaders who can meet the moment. And that’s why I decided to step into the ring.” Vang is the first formidable primary challenge that Matsui has faced in the two decades since the congresswoman won her late husband’s seat in 2005. Former Rep. Bob Matsui held that seat for 26 years prior. Two other senior California congressional Democrats have also attracted primary challengers. Rep. Mike Thompson, 74, of Napa County, a Vietnam veteran vying for his 15th term, faces a challenge from Eric Jones, 34, a former San Francisco venture capitalist. And farther south, former Obama and Biden White House climate aide Jake Levine, 41, is challenging Rep. Brad Sherman, 71, of Los Angeles, who is seeking his 16th term. All three challengers have vowed not to take corporate PAC money as their incumbent opponents do. Around California and across the country, younger challengers argue that Democratic incumbents in safe districts take their seats for granted since they so rarely receive serious challenges. That false sense of security, Vang said, results in out-of-touch members who have fewer incentives to show up in their districts and talk to voters. Part of meeting the current moment, Vang argues, means taking “bold and courageous” positions on important issues, such as speaking out forcefully against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. Vang said she wants Matsui to more strongly condemn immigration raids that have torn Sacramento families apart and violated residents’ due process rights. She was disappointed that Matsui’s denunciations centered around the unsanitary conditions of the John E. Moss federal building, where advocates said detainees were being held without access to proper hygiene, rather than on the separation of families and indiscriminate detentions. “For the past several months we’ve had neighbors, people in our community that have been kidnapped by ICE, taken by ICE, and Doris hasn’t spoken up against that at all,” Vang said. “And especially as someone who was born in the internment camps, I would think she would be on the front lines to speak out on the issues.” Matsui was born in the Poston War Relocation Center internment camp in Arizona, where her parents were incarcerated during World War II.in March to highlight Matsui’s absence, not even two weeks after House Democrats did a nationwide blitz of showing up in Republican districts to prove a similar point.Calls for generational change within the Democratic Party, while not new, have increased significantly as the party works to find its footing after 2024. The dynamic played out first in internal House leadership races earlier this year, where younger members likeRep. Thompson, Matsui’s congressional counterpart in neighboring Napa County, said his constituents have stopped him in public and asked him to run again. “I can’t tell you how many times I had people tell me, ‘I sure hope you’re gonna stick around. We need you more now than ever,’” Thompson told CalMatters. “No one’s asked me to retire. No one has suggested that I’ve been there too long. And everyone knows that not only am I capable, but I’m in good shape.” In Sacramento, Vang, the eldest of 16 children whose Hmong parents came to the United States as refugees, said she has the utmost respect for the Matsuis and their long history of service.But Matsui remains steadfast that she has much more work to do in Congress, such as overseeing groundbreaking for Sacramento’s new I Street bridge and securing federal funds for flood prevention and wildfire recovery, and said she will stay in the race. She emphasized that the deep relationships she’s built over 20 years in Washington are critical to her ability to deliver on those projects. “It’s important to not only have advocates, but have people who understand that once you’re in Congress, you have to learn how to govern, too,” Matsui said. “We cannot just throw everything out and start over again.” As for Vang’s intra-party primary challenge, Matsui said anyone is “perfectly free” to run against her at any time. “I’m fine with that. This is our democracy. This is America.”The risk of Dem-on-Dem challenges One risk of primarying veteran members of Congress is the loss of institutional wisdom, said Gale Kaufman, a Sacramento-based Democratic strategist, particularly with the Trump administration testing the limits of the law and boundaries of power. “Especially when you’re up against stuff like this, which we’re not familiar with, breaking every norm you could possibly imagine,” Kaufman said, “having some of those people around is not a bad thing.” Even among younger Democrats, there’s not wide consensus that incumbents are out and young challengers are automatically in. Evan Cragin, president of the Sacramento County Young Democrats, echoed Kaufman’s point that a blanket policy of “vote out all incumbents over a certain age” could be counterproductive. While the Young Democrats have yet to endorse anyone in the congressional races, Cragin said he is personally conflicted about who to support. “I don’t know who I’m going to vote for,” Cragin said. “It’s nice to have a strong member at the moment, but also, there is part of me that wants to make sure we support our younger members. And Councilmember Mai Vang is a very strong challenger. She’s very community oriented.” Those who support intra-Democratic challenges argue that they drive important dialogue and force candidates to clearly articulate their ideas and earn voters’ trust, rather than taking their support as a given. Incumbent Democrats across the country could benefit from primary challenges as the party soul searches, said Alex Niles, vice president of political affairs for the Sacramento County Young Democrats. “We need to have a reckoning and figure out, ‘What does it mean to be a Democrat? What do we stand for? What do people want and who are we serving?’” Niles said. Unsurprisingly, many incumbents and political strategists disagree, denouncing intra-party primaries as expensive distractions that deplete safe members’ fundraising that could otherwise support colleagues in more vulnerable districts. “The circular firing squad in blue districts hurts our ability to win swing districts,” Rep. Sherman told CalMatters in an interview. Candidates in safe districts often support their more vulnerable colleagues to gain clout within the party, whether through direct transfers of campaign cash or by urging their donors to channel their contributions to more contested races. Sherman argues that a competitive intra-Democratic primary forces a safe incumbent to invest more in their own reelection rather than helping flip battleground seats. He repeatedly mentioned tight races in Iowa and Ohio that he views as critical to Democrats reclaiming the House. “What happens in swing seats may determine whether America’s a democracy,” Sherman said. “Democrats have got to win seats in Iowa, and we can’t do it unless the strong Democrats in Bel Air and Brentwood and Malibu are focused on Iowa.He added that while it matters which Democrat represents California’s 32nd Congressional District, the Los Angeles-area seat that he’s represented for almost 30 years, it’s “not life or death for our democracy.” Sherman’s challenger Levine, who outraised the congressmember last quarter and appears to be the frontrunner in a crowded field, agrees that Democrats need to flip GOP-held seats to reclaim control of the House. But at the same time, if their party wants to retain the majority and win back disaffected voters, Democrats need to prove they’re focused on lowering the cost of living and improving their quality of life, in addition to preserving democracy. After leaving Los Angeles to pursue a climate policy career in Washington, D.C., Levine moved back home earlier this year to help his mother after— in the devastating Palisades Fire. He was frustrated by the disjointed local and state response to recovery, and he had hoped Sherman would step up and coordinate the response. “The things that people want to hear about, and the things that I’m trying to talk about, are the issues in the district,” he said. “Those issues really are not about the composition of the House. They’re not about Washington inside-the-beltway questions of power.” Instead, Levine wants to see his member of Congress answer the kinds of questions that families like his own think about every day — “Can I afford my rent? Can my kids stay in the same neighborhood where they grew up, and even in the same state, because it’s so prohibitively expensive?”The Stahl House, otherwise known as Case Study House #22, is on the market for the first time in its 65 year historyThe mid-century modern home in Hollywood Hills has come to embody the post-war Los Angeles good life. It is also one of the most recognizable examples of West Coast modernism.The house has been with the same family since its completion. But after caring for it for more than 6 decades, the Stahl children are looking for the house's next steward.For the fascinating history of the Stahl House, find out why its original moniker is Case Study House #22, and see the photographs that have made the hilltop home a revered landmarkA quintessential piece of Los Angeles history — a jaw-dropping mid-century modern of glass, steel and seemingly all skies soaring high above the Hollywood Hills — is up for sale.The Stahl House, otherwise known as Case Study House #22, has stayed with the same family since it was built in 1960. "After 65 years, our family has made the heartfelt and very difficult decision to place the Stahl House on the market,""This home has been the center of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become increasingly challenging to care for it with the attention and energy it so richly deserves," the Stahl children continued.for the house reads."A search for the next custodian who will honor the house's history, respect its architectural purity, and ensure its preservation for generations to come."The futuristic house with its stunning panorama and a swimming pool perched at the edge of nothingness has become one of the most recognizable and prized expressions of mid-century modern architecture in L.A. — how it came to be built was fueled by a similar spirit of experimentation and audacity. In 1945, the cutting edge Arts & Architecture magazine launched the"Case Study House" program to commission the era's biggest and most boundary pushing architects — Richard Neutra, Charles Eames and the like — to design and build within budget affordable, scalable homes for an exploding middle class after World World II.By its terminus in 1966, the program gave rise to 36 designs, of which 25 prototypes were built — mostly in and around the city — forging L.A. into an epicenter of West Coast modernism.One of them was Case Study Home #22 by Pierre Koenig, who as an architecture student at USC in the early 1950s was alreadyHis student work caught the attention of Entenza, editor of Arts & Architecture, who later invited him to join the Case Study House program. Architect Pierre Koenig was hired by former football player Buck Stahl and his wife Carlotta to build the Stahl House.The Hollywood Hills home would be Koenig's second Case Study house — and his most well-known. The story began with Hughes Aircraft purchasing agent and former football player Buck Stahl and his wife Carlotta, who bought a small hillside lot overlooking the city for $13,500.With its sleek lines and inviting airiness, Case Study House #22 has come to embody the good life in post-war Los Angeles, an idea reinforced by its countless appearances inBut the photographs that started it all — elevating the home into the stuff of mythology — was taken by Julius Shulman, the man tapped to document the entire Arts & Architecture program, after chartingJulius Shulman was responsible for documenting houses in the Case Study House program. The Stahl House is among a number of houses he took photos of.Shulman shot the Stahl House in May 1960 shortly after its completion. In the most iconic shot of the series, two young women in white party dresses are sitting in the glass living room, conversing leisurely as the house dissolves into the shimmering sprawl below.Representatives of Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and the U.S. Soccer hold up jerseys as they announce the four countries hosting the 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2031 Bid Announcement.The four proposed stadiums include the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park, Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which is also being used for the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup.: The bid was put forward by the U.S. in conjunction with Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. It includes 50 stadiums across the four countries.: Although it’ll be years before the final venues are selected, FIFA is expected to take up the vote to confirm the joint bid at their next congress scheduled for April 30 in Vancouver.The U.S. Soccer Federation submitted a joint bid with Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. It was the only bid that made the deadline.Forty venues have in the U.S. have been proposed as potential sites for 2031 games, with some right here in southern California.The bid projected that the 2031 tournament would bring in $4 billion in total revenue — four times more than $1 billion projected to be made from the upcoming 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Organizers expect to generate revenue from across six main sources including: ticket revenues, hospitality, concessions, fan festivals, broadcast, and marketing opportunities. Ticket prices are projected to start at $35 for the opening rounds seats, and between $120 and $600 for later matchesFIFA is expected to formally confirm the bid at their next congress on April 30th in Vancouver.
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