Mass confusion over ‘mass deportations’

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• The Trump administration’s recent immigration raid in the Los Angeles area didn’t come close to Trump’s “mass deportations.”
• A seven-planet parade is expected to line up in the sky on Friday: How to see it from SoCal.
• Dine amid flowing lava at downtown L.A.’s new immersive restaurant.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper.

Trump’s immigration raids don’t appear to be making a lot of arrests. So what’s going on?

Despite all the hype and fanfare, the Trump administration’s recent immigration sweeps in Los Angeles and other Democratic-led cities don’t appear to be close to the “mass deportations” that President Trump has vowed to carry out. At least so far.

I’ll be honest. It can be hard staying on top of all the news coming out of the White House, so this morning we’ll take a quick look at three stories from my colleagues at The Times that help give a sense of what is going on with the president’s immigration plans, particularly when it comes to California.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials look to arrest an immigrant living in the country illegally and with a criminal record on Sept. 8, 2022, in Los Angeles.

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

Only 12 people were detained during a weekend immigration sweep in the Los Angeles area

Federal agents had been planning to carry out a “large scale” sweep in Los Angeles County by the end of the month, according to an internal document reviewed by my colleagues James Queally and Brittny Mejia.

But immigration raids carried out on Sunday resulted in just a dozen people being detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, a source told my colleagues Rachel Uranga, Keri Blakinger, Ruben Vives and Jessica Garrison.

Officers at the detention center had been asked to prepare for up to 120 new bookings from the weekend raids, my colleagues report.

“We are hearing they aren’t getting the numbers they want,” a source familiar with the situation told The Times.

Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not say whether any special operations had taken place or release arrest figures for the day.

The Trump administration wants undocumented immigrants to register

The administration this week announced a plan to make undocumented immigrants ages 14 and older to register and provide their fingerprints to the government, my colleagues Rachel Uranga and Andrea Castillo report.

Those who don’t comply could face fines or misdemeanor prosecution, but it’s unlikely those penalties will motivate widespread registration.

The move appears to be designed to push undocumented immigrants to leave on their own.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign encouraging those here without status to “self-deport.”

A three-day raid in Kern County offers a glimpse into an ‘emboldened’ immigration enforcement

An early January raid in a rural stretch of Kern County may give us an idea of what immigration enforcement could look like under President Trump, my colleagues Rebecca Plevin, Andrea Castillo and Rachel Uranga report.

The raid was conducted by a U.S. Border Patrol chief agent who “went rogue,” three former officials with the Biden administration told my colleagues. The timing of the raid — before Trump’s inauguration — seemed to be a play to “show that there was a new boss coming and that that’s where their loyalties lay,” one former official said.

Nearly 80 immigrants living in the country illegally were arrested, including a child rapist, Border Patrol officials said. The agency has not specified how many of the immigrants detained had criminal records.

Advocates on the scene, meanwhile, said the operation indiscriminately targeted Latino farmworkers commuting from the fields along California Route 99 and day laborers soliciting work in the parking lots of big box stores. They estimate close to 200 people were detained.

ACLU attorneys have since sued the head of the Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol officials, alleging the raid amounted to a “fishing expedition” and violated protections afforded by federal law and the U.S. Constitution.

Today’s top stories

Leaf Hillman, a member of the Karuk Tribe, above a former reservoir on the Klamath River in Hornbrook.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

A California tribe enters first-of-its-kind agreement with the state to practice cultural burns

• Northern California’s Karuk Tribe has for more than a century faced significant restrictions on cultural burning. That changed this week.
• For the Karuk Tribe, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection will no longer hold regulatory or oversight authority over the burns and will instead act as a partner and consultant.
• The previous arrangement, tribal leaders say, essentially amounted to one nation telling another nation what to do on its land — a violation of sovereignty. Now, collaboration can happen through a proper government-to-government relationship.

L.A. County Public Health braces for impact under Trump

• As President Trump vows to rein in government spending and saddle federal money with new restrictions, the L.A. County Department of Public Health has a lot at stake — including about $1 billion in federal grants, according to its director, Barbara Ferrer.
• Federal grants make up roughly two-thirds of the county Public Health Department’s budget, funding efforts to fight diseases and other programs.
• Ferrer said there’s uncertainty under the new Trump administration and “significant risk” to the agency’s budget.

How to watch the 2025 Oscars and everything else you need to know

• The 97th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday and will kick off at 4 p.m. Comedian and TV host Conan O’Brien will emcee.
• The telecast will air live on ABC and stream live on Hulu for the first time.
• See columnist Glenn Whipp’s final predictions for all 23 categories.

What else is going on

• Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood and others honor Gene Hackman: ‘No finer actor.’
• A seven-planet parade is expected to line up in the sky on Friday: How to see it from SoCal.
• Is the water in Pacific Palisades safe to drink? LADWP has launched a website so you can find out.
• Huntington Park City Hall and mayor’s home were raided in a corruption investigation.
• L.A.’s Runyon Canyon Park partially reopens following the Sunset fire.
• A large majority of homeless people in California are not illicit drug users, a study finds.
• The Luka Doncic rumor mill: The Mavericks may be motivated to smear the new Laker with beer and hookah jabs.
• The beloved owner of one of Hollywood’s last costume shops has died at 90.
• ‘No Amazon, No Walmart.’ A protest calling for ‘economic blackout’ has some celebrity support.
• Hollywood diversity is in decline despite audience demand, a study finds: ‘The writing was on the wall.’
• Mass firings across the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ignite fury among scientists worldwide.

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Commentary and opinions

• It’s time for California to get serious about cheaper, cleaner energy, columnist Sammy Roth writes.
• America thinks it’s a country of free thinkers. But we’re actually compliant, writes guest columnist Sunita Sah.

This morning’s must reads

Seth Fonti holds a painting of his family’s home by artist Ruth Askren at his family’s temporary housing in Encino.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

‘Houses don’t get funerals’: Artists offer free portraits of homes lost in L.A. fires. Started during the thick of the fires, Homes in Memoriam is a joint project created by two native Palisades residents who wanted to provide comfort to those who lost everything from their former lives in the January fires. The volunteer-based project has attracted participation from more than 150 artists nationwide.

Other must reads

• Want to fireproof your house? Here’s where to start.
• As ‘Buffy’s’ Dawn Summers, Michelle Trachtenberg was all of our kid sister.
• She was one of the first Black homeowners in the Palisades. At 96, she is starting over.
• How Ülëw Coffee and Juice was inspired by Guatemala, bus treks and hustling in L.A. kitchens.
• Got longevity, respect and fame but an empty shelf? Two L.A. Times film staffers discuss the concept of when an Oscar is “due” — if ever.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your downtime

Projectors illuminate dining tables at the Gallery restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. The new space aims to reinvent the theme restaurant.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

• 🍽️Dine amid flowing lava at downtown L.A.’s new immersive restaurant.
• 🏞️Escape L.A’s noise pollution — leaf blowers! honking! sirens! — at these 12 ‘quiet’ parks and trails.

Staying in

• 🎧How Rebecca Black’s new record became her most liberated.
• 🍕 Here’s a recipe for pizza with roasted potatoes.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: Who should win best actor and best actress at The Oscars?

Luis Carlos Gutiérrez-Negrín writes: “To me, Ralph Fiennes in ‘Conclave’ deserves the best actor Oscar. For best actress I have two preferences: Karla Sofía Gascon in ‘Emilia Perez’ (hard to get it for the controversy around) and Mickey Madison in ‘Anora.’”

Email us at [email protected], and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... your photo of the day

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

General manager Simon Whicker sits on a couch at Holey Moley, a miniature golf course, where every hole is intended to be Instagrammable, on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Genaro Molina at a miniature golf course along the Third Street Promenade, where every hole is intended to be Instagrammable.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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