Paul Ong on the Raid Podcast Talks Immigration Shifts and the Impact on Communities of Color

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In a recent appearance on the Raid Podcast, Paul Ong, director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, discusses how current immigration enforcement is reshaping both policy and identity in the United States. Drawing on his research on ICE arrest rates and raids, Ong explains that the country is at a pivotal moment, with a significant transformation underway in how immigration is defined and enforced.

He highlights the concept of “othering,” noting that efforts to narrowly redefine who is considered American have evolved over decades and accelerated under the Donald Trump administration. Ong also emphasizes how enforcement strategies, including deportations, are part of a broader political agenda, compounded by limited available data. Reflecting on his own family’s experiences with deportation fears, he underscores the lasting impact of immigration policies on communities of color and the nation’s demographic future.

“I do not see the administration backing away from pursuing mass deportation,” Ong said. “What I do see is them changing their strategies and tactics to minimize the push back.”

Listen to the full podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcast.

A Toss-Up in the LA Mayor’s Race

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A UCLA Luskin poll finding that the Los Angeles mayor’s race is currently a toss-up received wide coverage from local, national, and international media outlets.

The poll of likely LA primary voters, part of the annual Quality of Life Index produced by UCLA Luskin’s Los Angeles Initiative, found that 40% are undecided.

The Los Angeles Times initiative De Los viewed the survey results through the lens of the Latino electorate, where the undecided vote is 44% just two months from the June 2 primary vote.

Other outlets highlighting the survey include the Los Angeles Daily News, USA Today, Newsweek, Politico, Britain’s Daily Mail, Fox11 News and Spectrum News1.

Gen Z Demands More: Andrea Escobar on California’s Leadership Gap

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Since November 2025, MPP student Andrea Escobar has traveled across California attending gubernatorial forums in her role as a Senior Fellow at Unseen, engaging directly with candidates on issues including health access, environmental justice, and housing affordability. Drawing from these experiences, Escobar co-authored a CalMatters op-ed that reflects her perspective as a Gen Z Latina seeking clarity on who is prepared to lead the state.

Public Policy student Andrea Escobar's headshot

Andrea Escobar

In the piece, Escobar offers a grounded and urgent critique of the current gubernatorial race, arguing that candidates are failing to meet the moment for Generation Z. She emphasizes the widening gap between the promise of the “California Dream” and the reality facing students today. She highlights the financial strain of higher education and cost of living, noting, “As a full-time student, I have to balance two jobs to afford tuition and rent in Los Angeles.”

Escobar’s critique centers on candidates’ lack of bold, actionable plans particularly around economic mobility, affordable housing, and education funding. She points out that young voters and Latino communities are often discussed in abstract terms rather than addressed through concrete policy proposals. This disconnect, she argues, risks alienating a generation already disengaged from the political process. As she puts it, “Without a clear plan to address the issues we care about, like college access and affordability, these candidates remain disconnected from mobilizing young voters like us.”

Read the full op-ed in CalMatters.

Zev Yaroslavsky Discusses Los Angeles Quality of Life Survey Ahead of Luskin Summit

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Zev Yaroslavsky appeared on ABC7 Los Angeles to discuss findings from the Los Angeles County Quality of Life Index (QLI), which will be released April 15 at the 2026 Luskin Summit. The annual survey, conducted since 2016, asks residents to rate their quality of life across nine different categories, including cost of living, education, the economy, healthcare, and sentiments around their neighborhood.

Yaroslavsky noted that the survey’s design allows researchers to track changes in public sentiment over time. Cost of living has consistently ranked as the lowest-rated category and has declined significantly since the pandemic. Concerns about traffic, transportation, and the education system have also received relatively low ratings.

This year’s results will provide insight into additional issues, including wildfire recovery, immigration enforcement, and housing preferences. Yaroslavsky emphasized that the QLI serves as a critical tool for policymakers and researchers working to better understand and address the evolving priorities of Los Angeles County residents.

View the full segment on ABC7 News.

Zepeda-Millán on Remembering 2006’s March for Immigrant Rights

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In March 2006, more than one million people marched through Downtown Los Angeles in one of the largest demonstrations for immigrant rights in U.S. history. The protest became a defining moment for Latino political mobilization in California.

Chris Zepeda-Millán, associate professor of public policy at UCLA Luskin, recalled the event to KQED. “People were out there demonstrating their pride and their dignity,” he said. “They were refusing to be silenced while they were being demonized by Washington.”

Nearly two decades later, that legacy continues to shape present-day activism. Over the weekend, tens of thousands gathered across California in “No Kings” rallies to protest policies under Donald Trump, including mass deportations.

Turner Weighs In on the Approaching Summer Heat

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Temperatures are reaching record-breaking highs on the West Coast, and experts from UCLA shared their concerns with Sierra Sun Times about the changing climate and phenomena like El Niño and heat waves that predict sweltering conditions in the following summer months.

V. Kelly Turner, associate professor of urban planning and geography at UCLA, noted that the early-season heat caught many communities unprepared. She emphasized that such events challenge traditional assumptions about when and how heat should be managed, underscoring the need for more adaptive, year-round planning strategies.

Turner concluded by emphasizing the importance of CalHeat Score, a tool that reveals the risk of the heat on health by using public health data, and called it “an important step in the right direction.”

As temperatures continue to rise, researchers stress that proactive planning and increased awareness will be critical to protecting vulnerable populations and building climate resilience.

Zev Yaroslavsky Reflects on 1984 Olympics and Weighs in on LA28

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Appearing on “Inside the Issues“ with Amrit Singh on Spectrum News 1, Zev Yaroslavsky reflected on the legacy of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics as the city prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. Scheduled for July 2028, the Games will mark the third time Los Angeles has hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Yaroslavsky, who served on the Los Angeles City Council during the 1984 Games, emphasized the importance of fiscal safeguards that guided the city’s approach at the time. “We did not want taxpayers on the hook for the 1984 Olympics, so we proposed a charter amendment to prevent the city from using general fund dollars to operate the Games,” he said. “Ultimately, voters approved that amendment in 1978.”

Looking ahead to 2028, he expressed cautious optimism about the Games’ financial outlook. “There is no reason why the LA28 Olympics shouldn’t break even or make a profit,” he said, noting that in 1984, organizers were forced to “maximize revenue and minimize expenses” because the city was not financially backing the event.

However, Yaroslavsky also raised concerns about the stalled negotiations between the city and LA28 organizers, particularly the absence of similar taxpayer protections. Host Amrit Singh underscored the potential risks, noting that if costs exceed projections, “the city and the state are on the hook.”

Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, called for greater transparency and stronger agreements as preparations continue, urging stakeholders to reach a clear and accountable path forward.

Rethinking L.A. Traffic: Manville Highlights Congestion as a Sign of Prosperity

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A recent op-ed for Town & Country by journalist Annie Goldsmith reexamines Los Angeles’s reputation for notoriously bad traffic. Opening with the iconic freeway scene from “La La Land” she frames traffic not merely as a nuisance but as a defining characteristic of the city.  She argues that unlike older cities with dense, rigid street grids, Los Angeles offers multiple routes and relatively predictable congestion, allowing drivers to plan their travel more effectively.

Goldsmith reframes traffic as a byproduct of economic vitality and personal mobility rather than dysfunction.

Luskin urban planning professor Michael Manville reinforces this perspective, stating: “Congestion is oftentimes a sign of economic prosperity.”

Ultimately, the piece portrays Los Angeles traffic as culturally embedded and even somewhat romantic—encouraging readers to reconsider it as an inevitable and even perhaps meaningful aspect of urban life.

ICE Deployment to U.S. Airports Raises Questions Amid Shutdown

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An NPR report examines the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to major U.S. airports during a partial government shutdown that left the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) understaffed. With hundreds of TSA workers resigning or calling out after working without pay, federal officials reassigned ICE agents to help maintain airport operations.

While ICE agents are assisting with tasks such as crowd control, monitoring entrances, and verifying identification, they are not trained to conduct core TSA screening procedures. Their presence has raised broader questions about the agency’s role in domestic travel spaces.

Experts note that ICE’s core mission remains immigration enforcement. Paul Ong, research professor and director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, explained, “ICE is an agency that’s created for enforcement, within the U.S., and so that will still be with them. While they’re there, they will carry out what they believe is their charge of identifying potential immigrants who are not in this country legally.”

California Is the Most Expensive State for a Comfortable Lifestyle

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California remains one of the nation’s most expensive states to live in, with communities like San José, San Francisco, and Orange County demanding six-figure incomes for comfortable living.

A recent SmartAsset study shows that a single adult in San José needs nearly $160,000 annually, while a family of four requires over $400,000, far outpacing local median incomes. Los Angeles ranks 16th, where single adults need $120,307 and families over $280,000. Housing costs are the primary driver of this gap, compounded by rising grocery and gas prices and stagnant wages.

The study underscores the broader housing affordability crisis in California, highlighting how daily necessities continue to climb while wages lag behind.

“It’s a problem that we created very slowly over a long period of time,” said Paavo Monkkonen, UCLA professor of urban planning and public policy, in a Los Angeles Times article.