An O.C. couple with no criminal record gets caught up in Trump’s deportation push
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Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
- An O.C. couple with no criminal record gets caught up in Trump’s deportation push.
- They lost their coastal Malibu homes to fire. But should they rebuild along a rising sea?
- A brand-new rose popped up in Barbra Streisand’s garden. Now you can buy it for yours.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper.
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Deported after decades in the U.S.
During a panel discussion at last year’s Republican National Convention, Tom Homan, who then-candidate Trump tapped to be his “border czar,” explained his approach to deportations:
“No one’s off the table. … If you’re in the country illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.”
About seven months later, Nelson and Gladys Gonzalez found themselves on that table.
The Laguna Niguel couple entered the U.S. illegally in 1989, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, and Nelson Gonzalez applied for asylum a few years later. Their application was denied, but the husband and wife stayed in the country, working and raising a family. They were subject to an agreement that included regular check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
During one such appointment on Feb. 21, the Gonzalezes were detained by ICE. After nearly a month, they were deported to Colombia, arriving March 18, the Orange County Register first reported.
The couple’s three adult daughters, all U.S. citizens, started a GoFundMe page to raise money for their parents’ legal costs and to help them rebuild their lives in Colombia.
“They have never broken the law, never missed an appointment and this sudden occurrence has left us in shock,” they wrote on the site. “This cruel and unjust situation has shattered our family emotionally and financially.“
Times reporter Ruben Vives reached an ICE spokesperson who confirmed that the couple had been given a final order for removal, and that they had no criminal history.
“Advocates say the couple’s case is part of a troubling trend: immigrants living in the country without legal authorization, who have no criminal history, being detained during routine check-ins and in some cases deported,” Ruben wrote this week. “Living in the country illegally is a civil violation, not a criminal offense, unless someone has been deported and returns to the country without permission.”
One of Trump’s key campaign promises was to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history.”
Although White House officials say enforcement operations are focused on apprehending criminals, a notable share of ICE arrests under Trump have been immigrants with no criminal history.
Homeland Security officials announced that ICE made 32,809 arrests in the first 50 days of the administration. Of those 14,111 were convicted criminals and 9,980 had pending criminal charges, according to officials. That means 8,718 people arrested — just over a quarter — had no criminal record.
NBC4 obtained and reviewed ICE data for the first two weeks of February, reporting that 41% of the 4,422 people detained were immigrants with no criminal history.
“The arrests raise questions about whether the Trump administration is shifting its focus and casting a wider net in an effort to meet President Trump’s political promise,” Ruben reported.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights, told Ruben that immigration officials are relying on the “extremely cruel” optic to deter certain immigrants.
“The majority of people have not violated the law, and even if they did it’s for low-level things that really doesn’t merit the punishment for the crime they’ve committed,” Salas said.
You can read more of Ruben’s reporting below:
- An O.C. couple’s sudden deportation sends shock waves
- Woman home again with ailing daughter after ICE arrest in El Monte
- LAPD presence at South L.A. immigration raid sparks questions
Today’s top stories
They lost their coastal Malibu homes to fire. But should they rebuild along a rising sea?
- In rebuilding, Malibu homeowners face the challenge of not just fire danger but also sea level rise.
- Scientists predict the challenges along the entire coast will only grow with time, with some projections putting sea level rise at up to 9 feet by the end of this century.
Swimming pools in Eaton fire burn area could become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, officials warn
- Mosquitoes thrive in warm weather conditions and rely on standing water to breed, making the swimming pools fertile grounds for a population explosion.
- Mosquitoes can spread diseases such as West Nile virus and Dengue.
Barbara Lee has avid fans in Oakland mayor’s race. But Loren Taylor is making it a contest
- Though nine candidates in total remain in the race, only Taylor has emerged as a formidable challenger to Lee.
- Their candidacies present voters with a provocative choice: Should Oaklanders choose a seasoned public servant who delivered for the district during her decades in the nation’s capital? Or a scrappy politician 31 years her junior who is immersed in local issues and knows the inner workings of City Hall?
What else is going on
- The owner of a famed L.A. restaurant faces backlash after Elon Musk and Tesla comments.
- Trump lawyers urge the Supreme Court to block a San Francisco judge’s order to rehire workers.
- Inside Paramount’s bumpy sale: the president, a scion and a possible sheikh.
- New fire maps increase hazard zones in L.A. and Southern California by 3.5 million acres.
- USC calls for a hiring freeze and austerity efforts amid budget woes and Trump investigations.
- A woman has died after being found injured in Yosemite National Park.
- Former UFC champ Cain Velasquez gets prison time for a vigilante shooting targeting his son’s accused abuser.
- After L.A. wildfires, experts offer a road map for how to speed up recovery.
- How looming tariffs are worsening California’s alcohol industry hangover.
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Commentary and opinions
- Gavin Newsom has lots to say. Columnists Anita Chabria and Mark Z. Barabak ask, is it worth listening?
- 23andMe files for bankruptcy, putting its hoard of personal health information at risk, columnist Michael Hiltzik writes.
- From the Allen house to the Waldorf school: What was destroyed — and spared — in the fires, columnist Patt Morrison writes.
This morning’s must reads
Inside the mystery of O.C.’s ghost town mall: ‘Why does it feel like I’m trespassing?’ Mall culture is still thriving in parts of Southern California. But not at Kaleidoscope, the loneliest living mall in SoCal. It never quite found its footing over the course of 27 years but has refused to die.
Other must reads
- Struggling through menopause? Look for these red flags at the doctor’s office.
- Party with gas, play with fire: the dangerous renaissance of ‘whippets’ in the music scene.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Going out
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- 🌹 A brand-new rose popped up in Barbra Streisand’s garden. Now you can buy it for yours.
Staying in
- 📖 Krysten Ritter may have witnessed a crime on vacation. She turned it into a novel.
- 🎬‘ The Studio’ — now streaming on Apple TV+ — lampoons the Hollywood showbiz machine with a deep bench of stars.
- 🍴 Here’s a recipe for spring pea carbonara.
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And finally ... your photo of the day
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Willie writes: “Morro Rock, this is a shot that can only be captured from the top of the Morro Bay Golf Course. The beauty of this area at sunset is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.”
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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