UCLA’s LPPI and Luskin Host Panel on Los Angeles Wildfire Recovery Panelists discussed prevention, equity as wildfire rebuilding efforts continue

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , /by

​On March 20, 2025, UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) and the Luskin School of Public Affairs convened a distinguished panel to address the multifaceted challenges of wildfire recovery in Los Angeles. The event, part of the “Defining L.A.’s Future: The Collision of Federal Politics and Local Realities” series, underscored the imperative for equitable and resilient rebuilding strategies.​

Interim Dean Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris opened the discussion by emphasizing the necessity of inclusive recovery efforts that serve all residents. “It’s vital that we ensure that our rebuilding strategies are inclusive and address the systemic barriers that disproportionately impact our most vulnerable communities,” said Loukaitou-Sideris. She highlighted the importance of addressing these barriers and aligning federal policies to ensure justice in the city’s response to wildfires.

LPPI Faculty Director Amada Armenta presented data revealing the uneven impacts of wildfires across communities, noting that many lack the resources required for effective rebuilding. She referenced collaborative research from LPPI, the Bunche Center, the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, and the Asian American Studies Center to illustrate these disparities.​

Moderated by esteemed journalist Jorge Ramos, the panel featured California Assemblymember Isaac Bryan MPP ’18, Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, and urban planning expert Cecilia Estolano MA UP ’91. Assemblymember Bryan advocated for addressing the root causes of wildfires, including the climate crisis, and called for long-term investments to combat worsening conditions. Councilmember Hernandez highlighted the exacerbation of health disparities in Black and Latino communities due to wildfire smoke, stressing the need for targeted health interventions and worker relief. Estolano proposed innovative approaches such as leveraging California’s redevelopment law to create disaster recovery zones, acquiring land from owners unable to rebuild, and increasing housing density to facilitate equitable recovery.

The panel collectively emphasized that wildfire recovery in Los Angeles requires a comprehensive approach that integrates climate action, health equity, and strategic urban planning to build a more resilient future for all communities.​ See highlights from the event in our photo gallery here.

For an in-depth account of the panel discussion, please read the full article in the UCLA Newsroom.

Armenta on Congress’ New Immigration Bills

/0 Comments/in /by

Amada Armenta, associate professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin, commented in a Newsweek story on immigration bills introduced by House Republicans. The bills follow a number of immigration-related executive orders issued by President Trump, and focus on securing the southwest border and addressing immigrants who may be violent criminals. The legislation does not seek overall reform to a complex system that has not seen major changes in at least 30 years, according to the story. “For over three decades, Congress has led with enforcement-only approaches to immigration policy rather than common sense legislation,” said Armenta, faculty director at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. She added that reform would “require acknowledging that immigrants, including millions who are here without a legal immigration status, make tremendous and unacknowledged contributions to society and are crucial to numerous industries in the U.S. economy.” Given the political messaging, she said, “I’m not optimistic.”

Read the article

 

Experts Say U.S. Labor Force Needs More Foreign-Born Workers, not Fewer

/0 Comments/in /by

In an article about the growing demand for foreign-born workers in the United States, Yahoo Finance spoke about immigration policy with Amada Armenta, associate professor of urban planning and faculty director of the Latino Policy and Politics Institute at UCLA. Noting that former President Donald Trump has vowed to finish a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, the story cites the GOP platform’s promise of the “largest deportation operation in American history.” Experts say such rhetoric misrepresents the country’s current and future employment needs, particularly with a large group of U.S. workers entering retirement. “Good policy can improve the politics around this issue, which has been really mired in dysfunction for decades,” Armenta said. “So, what we need are some courageous leaders who will change the narrative about the importance of immigrants in the United States and do their job to create legal opportunities for people who have been working here for decades.”

Read the article

 

UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute Hosts Briefing in State Capital

/0 Comments/in /by

California’s housing and environmental justice challenges were the focus of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute’s fifth annual policy briefing held at The California Endowment in Sacramento. Over 80 people representing legislative offices, community organizations, staff and students were welcomed to the May 1 event by Amada Armenta, LPPI’s associate faculty director and a UCLA Luskin associate professor of urban planning. “At LPPI, we like to say that all issues are Latino issues. And we know that to address these issues, you need data,” Armenta said. “Our research is led by a Latino team that draws on their personal experiences, as well as their deep expertise, to produce research that shines a light on communities that are too often ignored so you can serve your constituents through targeted and data-driven policy interventions.” California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara opened the session, followed by a panel on the complexities of environmental challenges, moderated by LPPI co-director of research Silvia González MURP ’13, PhD ’20. The briefing also shared research on the high prevalence of “doubled-up homelessness,” in which individuals share overcrowded and substandard housing, and highlighted the Latino Data Hub, the digital data platform developed by LPPI researchers. More than 20 UCLA students attended the briefing as part of the institute’s leadership fellowship curriculum. “Today, I see experts, scholars and students who are the future leaders. I see the staff for elected offices who have the knowledge, passion and power to change the trajectories and lives of our communities,” said Lila Burgos MURP ’13, deputy director of LPPI. — Cristian Rivera

Read the full story

 

Armenta on Repercussions of ICE Collaboration Programs

/0 Comments/in /by

Associate Professor of Urban Planning Amada Armenta spoke to the Los Angeles Times about increasing pressure to reform the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), which has for years been criticized for its treatment of immigrants in detention. The implementation of any changes will fall under the responsibilities of the new director, nominated by President Joe Biden. Some advocates have demanded improved conditions in detention centers as well as the scaling back of programs such as 287(g), which allows for collaboration between ICE and local law enforcement. While ICE says the local collaboration programs are meant to promote public safety, the result is that many undocumented immigrants are reluctant to report crimes to law enforcement out of fear that they will be expelled from the country. Armenta argued for doing away with the collaboration programs altogether. When immigrants are afraid to engage with law enforcement, “that’s bad for all of us,” she said.

Read the article

Armenta on Enforcing Accountability With Body Cameras

/0 Comments/in /by

Associate Professor of Urban Planning Amada Armenta spoke to the Los Angeles Times about privacy and accountability concerns regarding the recent announcement that U.S. Border Patrol agents and officers will soon begin wearing body cameras as they patrol the southwestern and northern borders. Following other local and state departments that have adopted body cameras, the policy change is meant to improve oversight of the agency and reduce the use of force by officers. Customs and Border Protection expects to deploy 6,000 cameras by the end of the year. However, some immigration experts are concerned about the fact that agents will be responsible for activating their own cameras. “It’ll be very easy for agents to claim that they forgot to turn on their cameras,” Armenta said, adding that it will be hard for migrants and others to counter officers without a recorded version of events.

Read the article

‘Halfway Home’ Book Talk Explores the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Sociologist Reuben J. Miller shared highlights from his new book on the inequities of the U.S. criminal justice system during a virtual dialogue on March 11, part of the Transdisciplinary Speaker Series at UCLA Luskin. “Halfway Home: Race, Punishment and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration” is the culmination of Miller’s years of research in Chicago and Detroit, including over 250 interviews with prisoners, former prisoners, and their friends and families. “It takes more than a few hours and a few cups of coffee to learn about a person,” said Miller, explaining that he wanted to move past the caricatures we have learned to embrace. In the second half of the event, Social Welfare Chair Laura Abrams moderated a discussion about the repercussions of mass incarceration. Michael Mendoza, director of national advocacy for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, said prison is like a ghost that follows you throughout your life. “The prison-industrial complex doesn’t just punish people physically but emotionally and mentally as people try to get their footing on the ground,” he said. Amada Armenta Ph.D. sociology ’11, associate professor of urban planning, noted the importance of producing research on criminal justice that is accessible for readers in order to facilitate a dialogue. Isaac Bryan MPP ’18, director of the Black Policy Project at UCLA, spoke about making a radical commitment to recognizing the full humanity of people and the role that policy can play in mitigating systems of harm. “This book uplifts voices that need to be heard,” Bryan said. “This book can propel us forward and was made for a moment like this.” — Zoe Day

Watch the book talk
More on the Transdisciplinary Speaker Series

Armenta on Biden’s Immigration Enforcement Plan

/0 Comments/in /by

Associate Professor of Urban Planning Amada Armenta spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle about Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s pledge to scale back laws requiring local police to participate in federal immigration enforcement. If elected, Biden plans to limit Section 287(g), which allows local governments to reach agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to aid in enforcing federal law. Armenta accompanied police officers on ride-alongs in Tennessee during the street-enforcement phase of 287(g). Her book about the experience noted that most of the immigrants held for deportation were detained for driving without a license. “Ending the ICE contracts would mean that millions of immigrants would be less afraid that a minor infraction (such as driving without a license or fishing without a license) would result in their deportation,” Armenta said. “ICE is not removing most people identified through 287(g) because they’re dangerous. They’re removing them because they have the authority to do so.”

Read the article

Armenta on Complex Relationship Between Latinos, Law Enforcement

/0 Comments/in /by

Associate Professor of Urban Planning Amada Armenta was featured in a Conversations with Changemakers interview about the complex relationship between Latino communities and law enforcement. The criminalization of most everyday activities of undocumented immigrants makes it almost impossible for local law enforcement agencies not to help with immigration enforcement through their routine patrol practices, even in sanctuary cities, Armenta explained. Through interviews, Armenta found that many Latino immigrants had favorable views of the police. However, negative interactions with police — including searches without clear warrants, being pushed and having guns waved in their faces — made many hesitant to call the police in the future. “The same aggressive practices that lead to police murders and mass incarceration are the same aggressive policing practices that lead to arrests of Latinos and Latino immigrants and mass deportation,” she explained. Law enforcement’s history of protecting whiteness and property have made the notion of a “just criminal justice system” remote, she concluded.

Watch the interview

Armenta Selected as Russell Sage Foundation Visiting Scholar

/0 Comments/in /by

Assistant Professor of Urban Planning Amada Armenta was chosen by the Russell Sage Foundation as one of 17 visiting scholars for the 2020-2021 academic year. Armenta will pursue her research on race, ethnicity and immigration while in residence at the foundation’s headquarters in New York City starting in September. The selection of Visiting Scholars is based on an individual’s demonstrated record of research accomplishment and the merit of the proposed project. Armenta will study the legal attitudes of immigrants, focusing on how they understand and make decisions about migration, driving, working, calling the police, securing identification and paying taxes. Her research will culminate in a book analyzing the experiences of undocumented Mexican immigrants in Philadelphia. This will be Armenta’s second book, following the award-winning “Protect, Serve, and Deport: The Rise of Policing as Immigration Enforcement” (2017), which analyzed the role that local police and jail employees played in immigration enforcement in Nashville, Tennessee. The Russell Sage Foundation’s Visiting Scholars Program supports research into the social and behavioral sciences with the goal of improving living conditions in the United States. Research topics have included immigration, race and diversity, poverty, labor practices, gender inequality, climate change and natural disaster recovery.