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Latinas Remain the Lowest-Paid Group in the U.S. Workforce

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Latinas are one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in the United States, and the share of Latinas with a bachelor’s degree or higher has more than doubled over the past two decades.

Yet Latinas have the lowest median hourly wage of any racial or ethnic group — $17 in 2023, compared to $25 for all men, $28 for white men and $34 for Asian American and Pacific Islander men.

These are some of the findings from a nationwide data analysis by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. It was released in advance of Latina Equal Pay Day, Oct. 8, which marks how far into the current year Latinas must work to earn what their white male peers earned the previous year. Among the report’s insights:

  • Younger Latinas are closer to wage equality. In 2023, for every dollar earned by white men in the same age group, Latinas ages 16 to 24 earned 92 cents while Latinas ages 55 to 64 earned 53 cents.
  • National descent is a factor. Latinas with Guatemalan and Honduran roots earned 54 cents per dollar made by white male counterparts. Those with Chilean and Argentine backgrounds made 79 cents and 82 cents, respectively.
  • California is the U.S. state with the largest pay gap for Latinas. Vermont, which has the smallest Latina population, is the closest to reaching pay equality.

“Latinas remain systematically undervalued, even as their role in powering the U.S. workforce grows,” said LPPI faculty director Amada Armenta, associate professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin.

“When Latinas and all women are paid what they deserve, families are stronger, communities thrive, and the future is brighter for our nation.”

View the full report on LPPI’s Latino Data Hub.

California vs. Texas: How ICE Enforcement Differs, According to New UCLA Report

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ICE arrests in California and Texas look dramatically different, according to new research from the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge.

While California has a larger immigrant population, Texas experienced arrest rates three to four times higher, reflecting differences in state cooperation with ICE and broader political climates.

The report notes significant variation in the profiles of those detained. In California, fewer individuals had pending criminal charges, and there were fewer transfers from jails and prisons compared with Texas. California also experienced a higher proportion of arrests among immigrants without prior criminal records, suggesting that state-level policies and political orientations heavily shape ICE enforcement outcomes.

These findings highlight the differences in federal immigration enforcement across states and underscores the importance of considering local policy environments when assessing the human and social consequences of ICE operations.

UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge Reports Surge in ICE Detentions of Asians

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The UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center released a joint research brief, “ICE Detentions of Asians: Increased Numbers and Hardships Under Trump.” The report details the Asian immigrant arrests by ICE surged during the first half of President Trump’s term. From February to July 2025, arrests more than tripled compared to the same period under the Biden administration, rising from 1,054 to 3,705. Arrests spiked in May with Trump’s push for one million deportations annually, peaked in June, and dipped in July under mounting opposition, court rulings, and overworked ICE staff.

Nearly all arrestees (96%) were detained, up from 88% the previous year. Transfers between detention centers also increased, which made it difficult for family members to locate the detainees and to help secure adequate legal counsel. California, Texas, and New York accounted for nearly half of all arrests, with California experiencing a ninefold jump.

Detainee demographics shifted notably: median age rose from 35 to 40, older detainees (55+) doubled their share, and female detainees rose by 471%, climbing from 9% to 14% of the total. Five countries—China, India, Vietnam, Laos, and Nepal—accounted for 82% of Asian detainees.

Despite Trump’s promise to target the “worst of the worst,” most detainees lacked criminal records. By June and July 2025, non-criminal detainees outnumbered those with convictions two to one. The report concludes that “the dragnet is expanding as the Trump administration hires more ICE agents, builds additional detention centers and has a freer hand to make indiscriminate stops that include elements of racial profiling.”

UCLA’s Mark Peterson Receives Inaugural APSA Career Achievement Award in Health Politics and Policy

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Mark A. Peterson, UCLA Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, Health Policy and Management, and Law, and Senior Fellow at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, has been honored with the inaugural Career Achievement Award from the Health Politics and Policy Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA). The award was presented by Julianna Pacheco, outgoing Section President, during APSA’s annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada, on September 12, 2025.

The award recognizes Peterson’s decades-long contributions to understanding and shaping health policy, his mentorship of younger scholars, and his enduring impact on both the field and public life. A leading scholar on American national institutions, Peterson has focused much of his research on the Presidency, Congress, interest groups, and public opinion, with particular attention to health care policy, Medicare reform, and HIV/AIDS politics. He has authored numerous influential works, including Legislating Together: The White House and Capitol Hill from Eisenhower to Reagan and co-edited volumes for the Annenberg Institutions of American Democracy Project, one of which received APSA’s Richard E. Neustadt Award.

Beyond scholarship, Peterson has shaped policy through advisory roles in Congress and California state agencies, contributed to the Blue Sky Health Initiative, and guided health care reform efforts including the Affordable Care Act.

Reflecting on this recognition, Peterson said,  “Receiving this inaugural Career Achievement Award from the Health Politics and Policy Section of the American Political Science Association was an unexpected honor.  As I said to my colleagues in the Section, now populated by subsequent generations of scores of younger and innovative scholars, it has been exciting to participate in and watch the emergence of the study health politics and policy making, and its real-world influence, become so prominent in the discipline of political science.”  

After January wildfires, Luskin students help one vulnerable community build resilience

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by Joey Waldinger

This spring, as Los Angeles recovered from wildfires that devastated Altadena and Pacific Palisades, a class of UCLA urban planning graduate students was learning how to help vulnerable neighborhoods prepare for the next one.

In assistant professor Minjee Kim’s Site Planning Studio, students spent the quarter immersed in Solano Canyon, repeatedly visiting the hillside community neighboring Dodger Stadium and meeting with residents to develop practical strategies for wildfire resilience.

The class was a crash-course in the realities of urban planning — unexpected challenges, stakeholder relationships and tight deadlines. But these challenges, Kim said, pushed everyone to grow, creating a deeply fulfilling educational experience and laying the foundation for further research on regional wildfire resilience.

“Working with actual stakeholders who had land ownership, resources or authority over the areas we were proposing ideas for — that level of real-worldness wasn’t something I envisioned,” Kim said. “It made the class really challenging but at the same time really rewarding. I’m so grateful to the entire class for being extremely passionate and dedicated about the project, and to the people of Solano Canyon.”

A service to Los Angeles

Kim was still planning her studio curriculum when the fires broke out in January.

“It seemed like a disservice to the community and the broader L.A. region if I didn’t address the wildfires in some way,” she said.

Not wanting to burden recently affected communities, Kim began researching other communities vulnerable to potential fire events. Through the city of L.A.’s Urban Design Studio, she connected with community organizers in Solano Canyon who were already working to reduce wildfire risks.

Sara Harris Ben-Ari, a co-founder of community group 1866 in Historic Solano Canyon, has lived in Solano Canyon since 2000. Fires have sparked in the neighborhood almost monthly for at least a decade, and Harris Ben-Ari and her neighbors have been working to reduce fire risks for nearly as long. But after the Eaton Fire — when burning embers flew into her yard— she pursued solutions with more urgency.

When Kim reached out to discuss a collaboration, Harris Ben-Ari said it felt like a perfect match.

“It was a godsend to have a group of really smart young students who are working at that level and have that level of training, attention … who really want to learn about landscape design and resiliency and geography as it applies to public planning and policy,” she said.

Planning for equitable fire resilience

Nestled within Elysian Park, vibrant Solano Canyon is the last remaining part of Chavez Ravine, a historic neighborhood razed in 1959 to clear space for a massive public housing project known as Elysian Park Heights, which never materialized, and later Dodger Stadium. Solano Canyon is located in one of the state’s highest fire severity zones, though its density and relative affordability are unique among most communities included in fire resilience discourse.

“I thought this would be a great opportunity for the students to work in a diverse and urban environment that is very different from affluent neighborhoods that already have resources to make their communities more fire resilient,” Kim said.

Students took this opportunity head on. During the first Saturday of the quarter, Harris Ben-Ari and fellow 1866 co-founder Lydia Moreno led the class on a neighborhood tour, pointing out fire hazards such as wooden infrastructure, overgrown grasses and invasive eucalyptus trees. Kim urged the students to revisit the area individually throughout the quarter.

Micah Wilcox, a second-year master’s student, said that as the quarter progressed, the class increasingly resembled a project that professional urban planners would encounter in the field. Working in teams, students presented weekly updates on their projects, honed visual and public-speaking skills, and learned to work as a team under tight deadlines.

“To just get dropped into a group and say, ‘Hey, you have a deadline, you guys need to put this together’ — that’s a foundational skill,” Wilcox said. “That’s what we do in the real world.”

Building community ties

UCLA students present maps and findings at various stations in a room. Credit: Minjee Kim

Community engagement is another foundation of urban planning that was baked into the class. And in the real world, as Kim’s class learned, community engagement is not always easy.

For the midterm, students invited residents to a presentation analyzing the neighborhood’s wildfire risks and vulnerabilities. Presenting to community members instead of engaging with them sparked tension, while concerns about fires started by the neighborhood’s unhoused population complicated things further.

“We did not realize that [the living quarters of unhoused people] was a major source of fire events in Solano Canyon, and when the community members started bringing up this issue, we didn’t have a good answer,” Kim said.

Kim describes the midterm as a turning point in the class. By the final, the class shifted to a design charette format, where the students created interactive stations that invited participation and input from the residents. She added that students steadfastly advocated for community members to work with their unhoused neighbors in reducing fire ignitions, instead of trying to “sweep away the issue.”

“It wasn’t us presenting information to them. It was more like we are learning from you, and here are some of the ideas and thoughts we can share with you,” Kim said. “So it was very much a cooperative, positive conversation.”

Overall, though, Harris Ben-Ari said the community was impressed by the students’ professionalism and thoughtfulness. The students’ work, she said, stood in stark contrast to what Solano Canyon residents often experience from officials — just holding obligatory meetings without really considering community needs.

“Everybody really felt like they were heard,” she said. “And if they didn’t, they felt like they could explain how they would be better heard and understood.”

What’s next?

Most of Kim’s research focuses on zoning and land use, but her studio class touched off an ongoing project on wildfire resilience. Over the summer, Kim has been working with two graduate students on a report summarizing the class’s recommendations and proposals, and illustrating how Solano Canyon can serve as a model for similarly positioned communities.

“It’s going to be a case study of Solano Canyon, but framed in a way that is helpful for the broader L.A. region in making hillside communities more fire resilient,” she said.

For Harris Ben-Ari and her neighbors, the students’ maps, research and other resources will help them apply for grant funding and push for more support from the city.

“It’s one more very solid tool in the toolbox.”

Shaping Hollywood’s Future: UCLA Luskin Student Mehra Marzbani Champions California’s Creative Workforce

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As an actress and student, what does it mean to you to advocate for reforms that help keep California’s entertainment/creative workforce thriving?

As a California native and a once-little girl who was perpetually glued to the screen, I always knew I wanted to play a role in Hollywood–after all, it is a quintessential part of our state’s identity and legacy. It felt surreal to see the huge Hollywood sign on my way to a TV set for the first time, because it struck me that this truly is where dreams are born and come true. As a student, I want to leverage public policy to keep that magical feeling alive for other emerging creatives and ensure equitable access to innovation and opportunity. And that’s what advocating for reforms that sustain and uplift our creative workforce means to me–it’s cheering on that little TV-obsessed girl who doubted whether or not she had a place in the industry and ensuring future generations that the Hollywood dream will stay here, in California.

What inspired you to focus your policy work on California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, and why is this issue important for the state’s creative economy?

In the conversations I’ve had with filmmakers and others, I’ve been overwhelmed by comments about red tape and permitting costs. It’s impacting not only the scope of productions, but causing more filming out of state and overseas. Now that I’m dabbling in independent production work, I completely understand the struggle; finding a location that’s within our small budget and seamlessly obtaining a permit–all without sacrificing the creative integrity of the project–is a major curveball. California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program does offer strong incentives to reclaim in-state production, but these tax credits should be paired with structural changes to be most effective–and that includes simplifying the permitting process and expanding eligibility to include student and low-budget productions.

Making the investment in California’s entertainment industry and the success of the next generation of creatives here is an investment in California’s economic strength and security. It supports thousands of jobs and livelihoods, attracts tourism, the list goes on. Especially in light of all the recent unprecedented challenges we’ve endured as a state, protecting our creative labor force now is essential.

As you look ahead, how do you hope to use your platform as both an artist and a policymaker to create systemic change or drive social change on a larger scale?

I truly believe in the power of storytelling and would like to continue doing that. Both art and policy tell a story, and the narratives we read and hear can challenge perceptions and spark tangible social change. The tricky part is to understand what makes a story effective for a given audience. Through acting, I’ve learned empathy, and through policymaking, precision. My education has given me the language and tools to translate the creative community’s needs into buzzwords legislative officials can act on, and I see my platform as a bridge–connecting arts workers, young innovators, policymakers, and local leaders to pursue mutually beneficial goals. We’ve all heard the phrase “Lights, Camera, Action,” but the call now is for the entire community to take action together, collectively shaping our dreams for the future.

Centering Youth Voices in Policy: MPP Student Theresa Willmott-McMahon on Her Summer with Young People to the Front

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What organization or agency are you working with this summer, and what are your primary responsibilities day‑to‑day? 

This summer I’m working with Young People to the Front (YP2F), a research and policy lab focused on amplifying youth voices and strengthening systems to make youth homelessness as rare and brief as possible. This internship sits perfectly at the intersection of my career interests, combining policy research with the ways we disseminate and consume information as humans, all centered around a social issue I’m passionate about.

My day-to-day responsibilities span several areas. I primarily work on research and policy reports. This includes writing, creating data visualizations, and implementing creative design that help tell compelling stories with the findings. I also contributed to YP2F’s annual impact report and have taken the lead on creating a zine about the inaugural YP2F Youth Homelessness Research Conference. On the communications side, I support media strategy development that makes YP2F’s work accessible to broader audiences.

headshot of theresa willmott-mcmahon

What’s one insight or perspective you’ve gained that surprised you, shifted your thinking, or changed how you approach public policy? 

Working at YP2F has fundamentally shifted how I think about research communication and approachability in policy work. I’ve learned that sharing research effectively means making it truly accessible and tailored to the communities it aims to serve, especially young people. Rather than relying solely on traditional policy reports, YP2F combines narrative with data, using creative formats like zines, social media, and podcasts.

In an era where data and scientific evidence face constant challenges, we must adapt our communication strategies to maintain the foundation of evidence-based policy. Narrative is the most powerful tool for persuasion and YP2F’s model of weaving youth voices throughout every aspect of the research process, not just as subjects but as collaborators and storytellers, has shown me how policy work can be both rigorous and deeply human.

How has this experience shaped your career goals or next steps at Luskin? Any advice for peers seeking similar internships or research opportunities? 

YP2F represents exactly the kind of organization I want to work with long-term because it uniquely combines research, communications, and advocacy. This integrated and community-forward approach to policy work is what I hope to pursue in my career. I first discovered YP2F through their podcast, Young People to the Front (you should check it out). I continued following their work because their approach to policy aligned so well with my goals. When it was time to find an internship, YP2F hadn’t posted any openings, but I reached out directly to their team, secured external funding, and made it work because I knew it would be an ideal fit.

My advice for peers seeking similar opportunities is to be proactive and strategic. Follow organizations in your areas of interest even when they’re not actively recruiting and don’t limit yourself only to posted internship opportunities. If you find an organization with a mission and approach that resonates with you, reach out directly. In my experience, particularly in LA’s homelessness policy space, the community is incredibly connected and collaborative. People genuinely want to help each other, so even if your first contact doesn’t pan out, they might connect you with other opportunities. The key is demonstrating genuine interest in the work and being willing to take initiative to make connections

Theresa stands in a room speaking in front of a group of colleagues at her summer internship.

California’s K-12 schools often lack sufficient shade and natural surfaces UCLA Fielding School’s Kirsten Schwarz co-leads a study to analyze, redesign and cool school landscapes.

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An interdisciplinary team of public health and environmental science researchers from across the University of California have found that despite efforts by the state and local school districts, many public schools fall short of providing sufficient shade, much less natural playing surfaces, for the 5.8 million children they serve – especially in an era of extreme temperatures.

“It’s hot, and it’s getting hotter, and trees are a good tool to cool down, for both kids and communities,” said Dr. Kirsten Schwarz, associate professor in the UCLA Fielding School’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences and a leader of the California School Tree Study, which is surveying public schools across the state. “Trees – and natural ground surfaces, as opposed to blacktop – are important in terms of the health impacts to children, and to mitigating the extreme heat they are experiencing in a place where they spend a lot of time.”

Approximately half of all students in California’s K-12 public schools attend a school where there is virtually no tree cover on their school campuses. Of 10,000 schools across the state, the typical tree cover, or canopy, is roughly 6.4%, according to project partner, Green Schoolyards America.

“It’s just not suitable for kids,” said Dr. Alessandro Ossola, a UC Davis scientist whose role on the project team includes measuring the amount of heat the blacktop playgrounds reflect back on the children using them, as well as how shade trees can reduce those temperatures. “Many kids might not have access to a backyard, they might not have access to nature, they might not have access to a safe space, a green space, where they can go and play with their families and friends, so the schools themselves are an opportunity to provide those sorts of benefits, as well.”

The study is a collaboration between researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW), the University of California, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE), and the non-profit Green Schoolyards America.

“We’ve been neglecting what our children need to be happy and healthy and learn,” said Dr. Julia Gowin, CALFIRE’s urban forestry supervisor for northern California. “This is a very comprehensive approach, not only to increase tree canopy cover for communities, but also to give those kids an environment where they can learn and thrive and develop.”

Forestry officials said the University of California’s unique expertise at researching a problem and providing potential policy solutions is why they brought the scholars into the project.

“The U.S. Forest Service shopped around for institutions that were the best equipped to analyze the problem and to come up with viable solutions for addressing that, and UCLA rose to the top of the list,” said Walter Passmore, California’s state urban forester and a veteran of both the federal and multiple state forestry services. “These are the organizations that are the best equipped, skilled, and have the experience to do this type of research work and come up with solutions.”

The study project began in 2024 and has completed its first phase, an analysis of land cover patterns in some 475 elementary schools in greater Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area, and the Central Valley. Findings showed extensive blacktop and other impervious surfaces, and state and local policies that created these school landscapes with few trees. This summer, the team has been collecting field data, including tree measurements, heat measurements, and interviews with district and school staff, including facilities, about how they manage trees, especially issues around maintenance to sustain existing and planned improvements.

“We’re wrapping up the field work, and our next step is going statewide, with workshops to connect with those who design, plant, and maintain trees on schoolyards,” said Schwarz, herself a parent of two children in public schools.

As an example, during the first phase, researchers found that in the schools surveyed, the amount of blacktop per school ranged from roughly 40% to almost 60% of the school sites, while the amount of natural space – landscaped with grass, trees, and shrubs – ranged from about 20% to 54%, with the remainder of the sites being structures, both classrooms and administrative buildings.

The best numbers were found in the Central Valley schools, where more than 53% of a typical campus is landscaped, although 40% remains covered by asphalt and similar surfaces; in the Bay Area schools, the percentages are about 27% landscaped and about 54% blacktop, while the numbers were the worst, relatively, in the southern California schools: roughly 20% landscaped and 59% blacktop. Some numbers were even higher – meaning worse – at specific schools, which given the temperate climate of the region, is questionable policy, researchers said.

“In Los Angeles, provided we have enough water, we can grow anything – it’s like an open-air plant conservatory, if you want it to be,” Ossola said. “In urban forestry, traditional canopy target goals, we have this goal of 30% tree cover, which is a lot for a built environment … but 15% would be nice.”

Funding

This project has been made possible with support from the USDA Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the University of California, Berkeley’s (UCB) Rausser College of Natural Resources and the UCB College of Environmental Design, and is affiliated with the Los Angeles Center for Urban Natural Resources Sustainability.

Living and Learning in Bali: Anastasia Vanderpool’s Global Internship Journey Anastasia Vanderpool shares how her summer with Bamboo Village Trust gave her hands-on experience in sustainable community development and GIS research.

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Can you tell us about your internship placement in Bali — what kind of work did you do, and how did it align with your academic or career interests?

My internship this summer was with Bamboo Village Trust (BVT), a Bali-based NGO that aims to create sustainable livelihoods and restore degraded ecosystems through the creation of “bamboo villages” across the tropics.

My work with BVT ranged across a few different teams and projects. First, I was in charge of putting together a plan (including a map, sample design, field survey, and overall methodology) for the validation of a mapping model created by the GIS team. Using what we learned from conducting and analyzing the data from this study, I created a document outlining standardized methods for any map validation performed by the organization and its partners moving forward. Another project I worked on entailed analyzing discussions from a workshop hosted by the organization’s Grow Your Own City team and conducting supplementary research related to its central topics. After doing this, I helped write a “white paper” for the organization that describes this information to important stakeholders. Finally, I assisted the communications team at BVT with various smaller tasks, like creating reels for their social media.

After college, I hope to pursue a Masters of Urban Planning and go on to work in the field of sustainable community development. The projects I worked on at BVT gave me direct experience in community development in addition to other necessary skills like GIS, fieldwork, and research.

How has this experience shaped your perspective on public affairs or your role in creating positive change in the world?

My internship and time living in Bali really broadened my perspective on public affairs and the ways we can engage with our work in the field. BVT’s approach to community development is very participatory, meaning that community stakeholders are at the forefront of the process. Observing this further solidified my belief that getting to know the communities you work with and uplifting people’s voices within them is of utmost importance. I think it is also critical to engage with different kinds of communities. Bali is so different from California, where I was born and raised, so I was able to familiarize issues and strategies for addressing them that I otherwise might not have.

Do you have any advice for other students who are considering this Global Internship opportunity next year?

My experience in GIP was life-changing. It was my first time ever traveling outside of the United States and my first on-site internship experience, so it felt like taking a big leap. Getting out of my comfort zone in this way ultimately allowed me to make some of the most incredible memories and to learn so much in just two months.

Though it may sound a bit trite, a big piece of advice I have for anyone looking to participate in the Global Internship Program is to make the absolute most out of your time abroad, both in and outside of your internship. Get to know as much about the local culture as you can, try new things, meet new people, ask a ton of questions at your internship site, learn about your colleagues’ lives/experiences, and spend your off-time exploring! I tried to be very intentional about these things during my time in Bali and  I am more than satisfied with the experiences and knowledge that I gained from the program as a result.