Issue #227: The gavel comes down on ICE sweeps
But Trump measures batter California economy
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A.I. comes to DMV; will it shorten lines?
Trump blows strike California in trade, tourism
Court upholds due process for California immigrants
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PROTECTING CALIFORNIA IMMIGRANTS
Judge restricts Border Patrol in California: ‘You just can’t walk up to people with brown skin’
Sergio Olmos and Wendy Fry, CalMatters
The ruling came in response to an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed after the El Centro Border Patrol traveled to Kern County to conduct a three-day sweep in January, detaining day laborers, farm workers and others in a Home Depot parking lot, outside a convenience store and along a highway between orchards.
The ruling prohibits Border Patrol agents from taking similar actions, restricting them from stopping people unless they have a reasonable suspicion that the person is in violation of U.S. immigration law. It also bars agents from carrying out warrantless arrests unless they have probable cause that the person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.
“You just can’t walk up to people with brown skin and say, ‘Give me your papers,’” U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer L. Thurston said during a Monday hearing in Fresno that featured moments of heated exchange between government attorneys and the judge.
California sent investigators to ICE facilities. They found more detainees, and health care gaps
Wendy Fry, CalMatters
A new report from the California Department of Justice finds that immigration detention facilities across the state continue to fall short in providing basic mental health care, with gaps in suicide prevention and treatment, recordkeeping, and use of force incidents against mentally ill detainees.
The report’s release today comes alongside an aggressive expansion of immigration enforcement and broader changes to immigration policy under President Donald Trump’s second administration. The timing of the report’s release signals California officials plan to continue oversight as federal officials move to expand immigration detention capacity in the state.
It flagged that California’s detainee population has grown since the state’s last review: more than 3,100 people were held in immigration detention statewide as of April 16, up from the daily average of about 1,750 in 2021, the report found. About 75% of those detained had no documented criminal history.
How ICE is becoming a secret police force under the Trump administration
Lee Morgenbesser, The Conversation
As an expert on authoritarian regimes, I’ve studied historical and contemporary secret police forces extensively across Africa, Asia and Europe. They typically meet five criteria:
they’re a police force targeting political opponents and dissidents
they’re not controlled by other security agencies and answer directly to the dictator
the identity of their members and their operations are secret
they specialise in political intelligence and surveillance operations
they carry out arbitrary searches, arrests, interrogations, indefinite detentions, disappearances and torture.
How close is ICE to becoming a secret police force? Let’s consider each of these criteria.
Trump signs orders ramping up immigration showdown with sanctuary cities and states
Jenny Jarvie and Andrea Castillo, LA Times
Local and state officials who obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws, according to the “Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens” order, engage in “a lawless insurrection against the supremacy of Federal law and the Federal Government’s obligation to defend the territorial sovereignty of the United States.”
Cities and states that find themselves on the Trump administration’s list of sanctuary jurisdictions could face a withdrawal of federal funding, as well as criminal and civil rights lawsuits, if they continue to resist Trump’s immigration agenda. They could even find themselves charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
The order instructs the Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, in consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security, to “take appropriate action against” cities and states “favoring aliens over any groups of American citizens that are unlawful, preempted by Federal law.” It could also target 24 states, including California, and D.C. that provide some immigrants lower in-state tuition rates at public universities than out-of-state U.S. citizens.
Did you know:
60% of Californians want our state to have a policy of “total non-cooperation with ICE” now that they are deporting long-term California residents with no criminal record.
77% of Californians think we should control California’s borders with other states “more like a country,” checking for illegal guns and other contraband at the border.
THE TRUMP EFFECT
LA County ports expect roughly 40% drop in traffic as Trump's tariffs continue
Tom Wait, KCAL News
The ports rely heavily on imported goods arriving from China, which President Trump levied tariffs of up to 145% against.
"I think what we're going to look to now in the second quarter of 2025 and also the third quarter, a substantial reduction in cargo volume," Cordero said. "As you know, our imports here at the Port of Long Beach overwhelmingly come from Asia, more specifically China."
A new report from the LA County Economic Development Corporation laid out sobering new numbers detailing the impacts of President Trump's trade war. They report states that the tariffs threaten $500 billion in revenue for the region and put 2 million local workers at risk.
California could lose up to 217,000 jobs if Congress cuts Medicaid
Laurel Lucia, UC Berkeley Labor Center
Depending on the specific mechanisms and timing for cutting Medicaid, California could expect to see between 10-20 billion fewer federal dollars per year coming to Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.
These federal cuts not only threaten health care access for many of the nearly 15 million–or one out of three–Californians currently enrolled, they would also lead to significant job loss in health care and other sectors given that health care is a key part of California’s economy, and Medi-Cal is a key pillar in California’s health care system.
We analyzed the loss of $10 billion to $20 billion in federal Medi-Cal funding in 2026 and find that it would result in:
Between 109,000 and 217,000 lost jobs,
$18.5 billion to $37.0 billion in reduced economic output, and
$860 million to $1.7 billion in reduced state and local tax revenue.
California tourism plummeted in February and March, new data shows
Paul Rogers, Monterey Herald
The decline in California nonresidents visiting actually began last year. Visits from Canada were down 15.5% in January and February.
Major Canadian airline cuts San Francisco flights as Trump backlash intensifies
Aldin Vaziri, SF Chronicle
Originally slated to operate twice daily flights on the route through the winter season, the airline has opted to maintain just one daily flight from November through March, according to the latest filings on the analytics firm Cirium’s airline planning tool.
Aviation journal Simply Flying reported that Air Canada Chairman Vagn Sørensen cited concerning transborder travel trends during the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on March 31, noting a 10% year-over-year drop in bookings to the U.S. between April and September.
IS U.S. DEMOCRACY DEAD?
An Obituary for the American Republic, 1789-2025
In lieu of flowers, design a replacement
Joe Mathews, Zócalo Public Square
The proximate cause of death appeared to be America’s decline in democratic governance. This was one of world history’s most rapid such declines, but there were warnings. In March 2025, the director of Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem), the Sweden-based think tank that monitors the world’s governments, cautioned that the U.S. was on the verge of losing its status as a democratic republic within months.
California’s true gold, however, is in its people and culture. For generations, California has been the land of dreams, the place where fortunes are made and remade, and where reinvention is not just possible but expected. From the Gold Rush pioneers to Hollywood storytellers, from the tech innovators of Silicon Valley to artists seeking inspiration in desert landscapes, California has always been a magnet for those seeking something more—something bigger, something brighter.
The Meltdown of the United States
In less than 100 days, the United States under Trump has become a very different country.
Melvin Goodman, Counterpunch
It is not an exaggeration to say that the United States is facing a meltdown that will be difficult to reverse. The executive branch has taken on powers that are usually associated with wartime requirements. The legislative branch has been largely neutralized because of the near total abdication of the Republican Party. And the judicial system is facing an unprecedented challenge from a president and vice president who have no respect for our courts and our judges. Trump has fired at least 15 inspectors general who were tasked by the Congress to root out abuses in federal agencies. This is an open invitation for corruption and abuse.
The United States is facing existential, constitutional, and identity crises that mark the country’s decline; the impact can already be seen in terms of our domestic and international instability.
The end of US democracy and what this means for international relations
Professor Benjamin Goldsmith, ANU Reporter
I intuitively feel the system is doomed, but the social scientist in me will only claim that the most likely outcome over the next few years is the demise of the US liberal democratic system.
Unlike most Americans, I have lived in non-democratic states and witnessed the absence of true or “liberal” democracy.
Because most of us living in established democracies do not have this lived experience, there is probably less alarm and a higher assessment of the US system’s resilience than is warranted.
But once we realise the democratic system is gone, it’s too late – we can’t just vote it back in.
There are seven key elements of the emerging international order:
The dominant ideology of great powers will be nationalism.
International politics will resemble the realist vision of great powers balancing power, carving out spheres of influence.
It will make sense for the illiberal great powers to cooperate in some way to thwart liberalism – a sort of new ‘Holy Alliance’ type system could emerge.
The existing institutional infrastructure of international relations will move towards a state-centric bias, away from a human-rights, liberal bias.
International economic interdependence, although curtailed since the days of high “globalisation,” will continue to play an important role in tempering great-power behaviour.
Democracy will be under greater pressure globally, with no great power backing and perhaps active US encouragement of far-right illiberal parties in established and new democracies.
Mass Politics and soft power will still matter, but the post-truth aspect of public opinion in foreign policy will be greater.
The Disintegration of North America
Why on earth is Trump blowing up relationships with the two closest U.S. allies?
John Feffer, Foreign Policy in Focus
Let’s consider another attempt to impose geopolitical sense on an otherwise disparate set of administration policies: that Trump wants to reestablish an older world order based on spheres of influence.
According to this notion, Trump would be happy to allow China to preside over an Asia-Pacific sphere. Russia would then administer the territory of the former Soviet Union. Europe would have to give up on Ukraine but it would get in return North Africa and perhaps all points south. Israel, as a kind of representative of Europe, would divide up the Middle East with the Saudis.
And the United States would reign supreme in North America—plus, according to the Monroe Doctrine, all of Latin America. Throw in Greenland and Trump would be looking to make the Americas great again.
Trump’s tariffs point to a different strategy, not spheres of influence so much as anti-globalization, pure and simple. Trump is suspicious of any international effort that puts the United States at a table of equals, and he’s deaf to the reality that the United States was always first among equals when it came to globalization. Trump doesn’t like the UN, the IMF, the ICC. He doesn’t like the nervous system of economic globalization with its multilateral trade deals and regulatory superstructure. He much prefers bilateral relations where the United States can throw its weight around and intimidate weaker countries. He despises the EU because its gives smaller nations like Denmark the power to stand up to the United States.
A.I. IN GOVERNMENT: BROUGHT TO YOU BY GAVIN NEWSOM
A kinder, gentler DOGE? Newsom says AI deals will make California more efficient
“We’re DOGE, but better … because we’ve been doing it with people, not to people,” Newsom said.
Rachel Myrow, KQED
Two of the agreements aim to improve the Department of Transportation’s ability to identify and prevent traffic bottlenecks, accidents and near-misses: one with Accenture to use Azure OpenAI, developed by Microsoft, and the other with Deloitte Consulting to use Google’s Gemini GenAI.
In the third partnership, Department of Tax and Fee Administration officials will use generative AI to build on a pilot project carried out over the last 10 months by SymSoft Solutions, using Anthropic’s Claude, to reduce the time it takes to handle an average customer inquiry.
Newsom said he’s rolling out generative AI projects with multiple corporate partners across eight state departments, at a scale he said has yet to be seen anywhere else in the country. The latest projects build on Newsom’s 2023 executive order directing state agencies to use generative AI technologies to improve state services and help solve intractable issues.
Newsom announces AI-driven efforts to help state reduce traffic jams, improve road safety
Rob Hayes, abc7 Eyewitness News
The AI-based projects unveiled promise to streamline the state's DMV offices and help clear up traffic bottlenecks.
"Two to three months will turn into two to three days of work once we start to use the generative AI tools to help us identify the problems more uniquely and come up with solutions to address those traffic congestion points," California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said.
And next time you call a California tax office with a complicated filing question, the call center worker will now be using AI to find answers quicker and shorten the process.
AND IN THE ECONOMY
California’s economy is now the 4th largest in the world ... or is it?
Michael Hiltzik, LA Times
One reason for circumspection is that the international rankings are notoriously squishy. They’re dependent on numerous factors that may have less to do with economic growth as such than with factors such as currency exchange rates. Indeed, the main factor in California’s leapfrogging over Japan was the decline in the yen’s value against the dollar, an artifact of the Bank of Japan’s decision to maintain low, even negative interest rates.
Since national GDP is typically calculated in dollar terms, that hurt Japan in relation to its nearest rival in the rankings, Germany — even though Japan’s growth rate in GDP in recent years has actually exceeded Germany’s.
Nothing about all this ensures that some combination of factors in California or the rest of the world won’t rejumble these rankings, perhaps to the state’s disadvantage.
Despite its size, California has discovered that it can’t go it alone on many important goals. The state was unable to enact its own universal healthcare insurance system, a goal of then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. It can’t finance its state-level health programs without billions of dollars annually in federal funding.
Yeah, no - See our article on what it really means to be a donor state.
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