The Trump administration has ramped up its mass deportations efforts since January and is now facing a growing legal battle as a federal judge is questioning whether the administration ignored his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.

Earlier this month, three organizations sued the administration for efforts to put an early end to temporary protected status for people from Haiti and Venezuela living in the United States. Last month, the White House rescinded the February 2026 extension that was granted under the Biden administration. 

On this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae sits down with Los Angeles City Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who is calling on the city to have clearer protocols for its immigrant sanctuary laws. This comes after LA Police Department officers were reported to be present last month at enforcement operations throughout Los Angeles, including the 1st District. 

The city’s currency sanctuary laws ban city employees and city property from being used to “investigate, cite, arrest, hold, transfer or detain any person” for the purpose of immigration enforcement, with the exception of investigations into serious offenses.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were assisting with traffic control as Homeland Security officers were attempting to arrest a suspect wanted for human trafficking. He stressed the LAPD does not take part in civil immigration enforcement. 

“This motion was put forth for transparency so that LAPD could walk us through what are all their protocols, what are the things they can engage with and what are the things they cannot engage with, and making sure that the community understand what’s happening on the ground because it did not look like a good situation,” Hernandez said. 

The councilwoman also stressed that she’d like to see more education of community members of their rights when immigration enforcement happens.

“I would love to see the city invest more in that infrastructure,” Hernandez said. “Although we are facing some difficult financial times, we know and we understand that our immigrant communities are the backbone to many of the industries here in the city.”

Pedro Trujillo, director of organization at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, also joins this week’s show to discuss a new hotline that people can call to report immigration enforcement activity, and about the difference between a judicial warrant and an administration warrant. 

“The Los Angeles Rapid Response Network is really a network of 30 organizations that are ready to respond to the needs of the community, whether it’s raids, whether it is that one of their family members was detained, or if they see immigration enforcement taking place in their community,” Trujillo said. “We have trained volunteers who are ready to show up and to support those community members by making sure that there’s a due process in place, by giving them ‘Know Your Rights’ information, which is constitutional rights that we all have as folks who are living in the United States.”

Spectrum News’ Jacqueline Hurtado talks to community members who are worried about the future of temporary protected status, while Lydia Pantazes speaks to a member of the San Fernando City Council who is pushing for her city to become a sanctuary city. 

Send us your thoughts to InFocusSoCal@charter.com and watch at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. on Sundays.