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Los Angeles city employees can no longer hold second jobs with federal immigration enforcement agencies. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who represents District 7, introduced the motion to establish the policy, which was unanimously approved by the council on Wednesday, with one member absent.
The policy applies to anyone working for the city full or part-time, as well as appointed officers and retirees returning for short-term work. It bars them from compensated work investigating, enforcing or assisting in civil immigration enforcement outside of their city employment. Feldstein Soto said employees who violate the policy would face discipline and could be terminated.Rodriguez first introduced the bill late last year after the Trump administration sent federal immigration agents to conduct raids and eventually deployed troops to quell widespread protests in Los Angeles. Rodriguez and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto have both said that there is no evidence that city employees had been moonlighting in immigration raids. But they emphasized that the city needed to remain clear about such boundaries with federal agencies that have been rapidly recruiting to deliver on the federal government’s deportation promises.City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who represents District 7, introduced the motion to establish the policy, which was unanimously approved by the council on Wednesday, with one member absent. “Families can trust the public servants that are employed with the city of Los Angeles to not be engaged in other employment activities that will compromise their work and their role and the level of trust that we need to exemplify here in this city,” Rodriguez said during the press conference. When The LA Local asked whether there was any evidence that city employees had been moonlighting in immigration raids, Rodriguez and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto both said no. But they emphasized that the city needed to remain clear about such boundaries with federal agencies that have been rapidly recruiting to deliver on the federal government’s deportation promises. Rodriguez first introduced the bill late last year after the Trump administration sent federal immigration agents to conduct raids and eventually deployed troops to quell widespread protests in Los Angeles. During a press conference held at City Hall before the vote, Rodriguez said that the policy ensures city employees stay focused on LA’s priorities and values. She said the federal government’s aggressive immigration enforcement conflicts with the responsibilities of the city’s public servants. “Our employees are not going to serve dual masters,” Rodriguez said. “That is a critical step to building back whatever trust may have been lost in the last 12 months. We stand behind our immigrant communities. We stand behind the fact that local law enforcement is here to ensure public safety.” The motion amends the city’s Municipal Code, building on an exemption for city employees taking outside jobs without prior approval from their department’s administrators. The previous code did not address whether city employees could work for federal immigration agencies, including law enforcement and administrative work. Feldstein Soto, who joined Rodriguez at City Hall before the vote, said that Angelenos deserve to seek services from any city department with confidence that the person behind the counter “does not have an off-duty employer whose job it is to deport you or your family. And this ordinance ensures that’s the case.” The policy applies to anyone working for the city full or part-time, as well as appointed officers and retirees returning for short-term work. It bars them from compensated work investigating, enforcing or assisting in civil immigration enforcement outside of their city employment.Similar policies have been introduced in other jurisdictions, including one in February in the California State Legislature by State Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez and Sen. Maria Elena Durazo. Rodriguez’s measure is among the first adopted by a city council in the nation. She said it is unique because it applies to all jobs, while some have focused only on restricting law enforcement employees. “We’re making history here in the city of Los Angeles that is setting an excellent example for other communities and other cities to follow across the nation,” Rodriguez said.At a protest outside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center earlier this month, hundreds of Angelenos expressed opposition to conditions faced by immigrant detainees — and many said the facility would be more aptly described as a “concentration camp.”Current and former detainees say immigrants at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center face substandard conditions, including rotten food, denial of medical care and solitary confinement.ICE denies there are substandard conditions at Adelanto. In a press statement issued after the recent death of a detainee, the agency said it is “committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments.”, at least 23 people have died in ICE detention this fiscal year. Across the country, about 70,000 people are currently detained. In conversation with LAist, Andrea Pitzer, author ofagainst ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, seeking to “end the inhumane and illegal conditions faced by immigrants.”At a protest this month outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Adelanto, advocates derided what they said are substandard conditions for the roughly 2,000 people imprisoned at the Adelanto campus. Multiple protesters said the detention center would be more aptly described as a “concentration camp,” drawing parallels to some of the darkest moments in U.S. and world history. For protesters who opt to use such a charged phrase to refer to immigrant detention, doing so isn’t just a matter of accuracy; above all, they seek to prevent further harm.Current and former detainees say immigrants at the ICE processing center experience rotten food, inadequate medical attention and punitive isolation.against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, seeking to “end the inhumane and illegal conditions” at this facility. The lawsuit describes Adelanto as an unsanitary place where “disease and illness are rampant.” “Mold grows on bathroom and dormitory walls,” the lawsuit says. “Individuals across various dormitories contracted an infectious skin disease called a staph infection — and more than a dozen detained individuals hospitalized.”What is the state’s role at Adelanto?During inspections at Adelanto, Bonta said in a press statement, his team witnessed"shockingly inadequate medical care, a failure to accommodate people with disabilities, disturbingly unsafe and unsanitary conditions and a lack of basic necessities.” Bonta also said detainees have reported “denied access to facility phones for prolonged periods,” which impeded their ability to contact their families and legal counsel.The federal government has denied claims of substandard conditions. In a press statement issued after the death of a detainee, ICE said it is “committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments.” “Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay,” the statement continues. “This is the best health care tha many aliens have received in their entire lives.”outside Adelanto, in partnership with sister organizations across Southern California. In a message to protesters ahead of the event, the group referred to the detention center in Adelanto as a “concentration camp for immigrants.” Out in the Mojave desert, others also made connections to the past. “ I'm here today fighting for the fathers, the mothers and community members who have been abducted,” said N. Suzuki, a member of Nikkei Progressives, an intergenerational community organization based in Little Tokyo. “This is a moment in history, much like it was for Japanese Americans during World War II,” they added, referencing the U.S. incarceration of more than N. Suzuki and Amy Oba carried a poster with an excerpt from Civilian Exclusion Order No. 69, a 1942 army directive forcing people of Japanese ancestry — most of them U.S. citizens — to leave their homes.Elisa Schwartz, a resident of the San Fernando Valley, traveled nearly 100 miles to join protesters in Adelanto. She also referred to the detention centers as “camps” and said that as a Jewish person, it felt “heavy” to be there. “I remember hearing this from my mother when I was a kid,” she said. “‘ other people, you can start to hurt them. Once you start to hurt them, you herd them and you can destroy them.’ And this is what this is — make no mistake.”, backs protesters’ use of the phrase to refer to conditions inside U.S. immigration detention facilities. Her book, published in 2017, looks at how the idea of concentration camps came into being; how these places led to extermination centers likeTo write her book, Pitzer conducted research in two dozen countries, across four continents. She also spoke with current and former detainees from various camps, as well as guards. All this was anchored in years of archival work., Pitzer defines “concentration camps” as the mass detention of civilians “without due process or a real trial, on the basis of identity — usually political, racial, ethnic or religious” she told LAist.Pitzer said she’s not interested in forcing anyone to use the phrase “concentration camps” to refer to U.S. immigrant detention centers. Instead, she explained why doing so is valuable: As protesters at Adelanto aimed to convey, the phrase can help others “recognize that term as an escalation of the usual state of detention.” Given that some 70,000 immigrants are currently imprisoned across the U.S., she added, “the current potential for harm is vast.” Those who support the Trump administration’s mass deportation project might be inclined to say that undocumented immigrants are being detained because they crossed the border without authorization, Pitzer noted, and that “theresomething that they've done.” But breaching immigration law is a civil offense, not criminal, she said. Plus, “historically speaking,” when governments detain civilians en masse, they devote a lot of time and resources to criminalizing them. “In Nazi Germany, for instance, spent years criminalizing German Jews so that they literally could not be there legally. The whole goal was to turn them into ‘illegal aliens,’” she said. In Pitzer’s view, “It's clear that people who are being rounded up are being detained because of skin color, because it's suspected that they're Latino.”in an ongoing case on immigration stops, wherein he gave federal agents the green light to continue making those stops based on factors like “speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent” and “apparent race or ethnicity.” That text, Pitzer said, “starts to clarify why actually happening and why does fit the definition of concentration camps.” “When people hear the phrase ‘concentration camps,’ they get a little bit confused, and they immediately think of death camps and extermination centers,” she added. “But what they might not realize is that all around the globe ... there were many, many other camps that never became extermination centers. Yet, they were still terrible places.” In Argentina, in Chile and in the Soviet Union, she said, “those early camps looked quite a bit like some the U.S.” Camps in each of those nations had their “own local cultural conditions,” Pitzer added. But many of their features — including the lack of access to medical care, sanitation and healthy food for detained civilians, and starting with “people being kidnapped off the street by masked gunmen” — are not unlike what’s happening in the U.S., she said.Yoán Moncada of the Los Angeles Angels steals second base against Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers during a Spring Training game at Dodger Stadium on March 23, 2026.The Dodgers begin their quest for a third straight World Series Thursday as the 2026 Major League Baseball season begins. Meanwhile, the Angels look to end a decade-plus playoff drought and log their first winning season since 2015.A third World Series victory would write yet another chapter in the 2020s Dodgers already robust book of accomplishments. Only two other franchises in baseball history have won back-to-back-to-back World Series. The then-Oakland Athletics did it in 1972, 1973 and 1974 , and the New York Yankees did it in 1998, 1999 and 2000 with those mega-teams that included Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.Age is probably the biggest. The Dodgers are one of the older teams in the league. Most of their core players — Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Will Smith, Teoscar Hernandez, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell — are 30 or older. And playing with a target on your back isn’t easy — the Yankees, Mariners, Phillies and Padres will all aim to dethrone L.A. But the Dodgers are used to it, so if any team is equipped to win three straight World Series titles, it’s this Dodger team.The Angels also begin their 2026 campaign Thursday against the Houston Astros. New manager Kurt Suzuki, a former catcher who played for the Angels during his pro career, will try to right the ship in Anaheim. The Halos have a roster that sports young, talented players like Jo Adell, Logan O’Hoppe and Nolan Schanuel. And of course Mike Trout will play a role if he can stay healthy. There’s nowhere to go but up for this team. They finished last in their division, the AL West, last year, haven’t had a winning record since 2015, and haven’t made the playoffs since 2014. They’ll have their work cut out for them in a division that includes a powerhouse Seattle Mariners team and an annual contender in the Houston Astros.The Dodgers are at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets the start for L.A. First pitch is at 5:30 p.m. on NBC. The Angels are in Houston. Jose Soriano will start for the Halos. First pitch was at 1:10 p.m.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.The “No Kings” protest movement is planning a third national day of action this Saturday in response to the war in Iran and continued immigration enforcement.More than 50 events are taking place in the L.A. metro area alone, with the largest planned in downtown Los Angeles, where over 100,000 people are expected to attend, according to organizers.The “No Kings” protest movement is planning a third national day of action this Saturday in response to the war in Iran and continued immigration enforcement. More than 50 events are taking place in the L.A. metro area alone, with the largest planned in downtown Los Angeles, where over 100,000 people are expected to attend, according to organizers. “Many of the organizations that have coordinated with us are sending feeder marches or caravans to attend the rally in downtown L.A.,” said Nick Miller, a press coordinator for 50501 SoCal, which is part of the No Kings coalition. During the first No Kings protest in June, thousands in downtown Los Angeles marched in the largely peaceful protest before theFor this Saturday, an LAPD spokesperson told LAist the department is prepared for the event and"have sufficient resources to respond.”“If you are participating in a demonstration, please abide by all traffic laws. Criminal activity and violence will not be tolerated,” said Jordan McGinleywith the Long Beach Police Department.Santa Clarita:California lawmakers voted Thursday to rename César Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day in an effort to reconcile the Latino labor icon’s legacy with explosive sexual abuse allegations before the state holiday on March 31.The change comes after allegations became public last week that Chavez had sexually abused girls and women during his days building a major farmworker labor rights movement in the 1960s in California. California was the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday, March 31, as a holiday to honor the civil rights leader nearly 30 years ago. The Legislature then, in 2000, passed a bill to make it an official paid day off for state employees and require that students learn about his legacy and his role in the labor movement in California.The California bill passed in the Assembly with bipartisan support on Monday and is now before the Senate. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to quickly sign the bill. Day as Farmworkers Day in an effort to reconcile the Latino labor icon’s legacy with explosive sexual abuse allegations before the state holiday on March 31. during his days building a major farmworker labor rights movement in the 1960s in California’s agricultural heartland. Among those who accused him was . The swift and sweeping effort to erase Chavez’s name from public life was previously unthinkable, as his status had only grown more iconic since his death in 1993. California was the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday, March 31, as a holiday to honor the civil rights leader nearly 30 years ago. The Legislature then, in 2000, passed a bill to make it an official paid day off for state employees and require that students learn about his legacy and his role in the labor movement in California. The California bill passed in the Assembly with bipartisan support on Monday and is now before the Senate. “We cannot ignore wrongdoing and we should not continue to celebrate a single person when the movement itself is so much bigger,” Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said before the vote Monday. Republican Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo said the change is about honoring workers and their families. “This isn’t just about a date on a calendar or a name on a building,” Macedo said. “It is about the hands that feed this nation. It is about the men and women who are in the orchards, in the fields, before the sun even touches the horizon, and who are still there long after it sets.” Since the allegations came to light, California State University, Fresno, has covered up Chavez’s statue on campus, while cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento have taken steps to erase his name from public landmarks. Some advocated for Huerta’s name to replace Chavez’s, and several states already said they won’t observe the day. Senate Pro Tempore President Monique Limon said honoring farmworkers is especially important in the face of a series of federal raids across the state last year. A worker in her district “His death is a reminder of how much farmworkers risk every day to put food on our table,” she said before the vote. “Our farmworkers remind us that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.” Republican Sen. Suzette Valladares said her family built a life in California by working the fields and that the movement brought immigrants from different backgrounds together. “This is not about one person. This is not about one narrative,” she said. “It’s about honoring generations of sacrifice, of resilience and hope.”
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