Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Sunday. I’m your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

Early ICE immigration raids may pale in comparison to one scheduled for Los Angeles this month

Even before the Trump administration came to power, there were already U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “raids” that made headlines in early January in Bakersfield and this week in Denver and Aurora, Colo.

Los Angeles County, home to more than 800,000 undocumented residents, according to USC’s Equity Research Institute, did not draw the early ire of ICE officials.

That, however, may be changing.

My colleagues James Queally and Brittny Mejia reported that federal law enforcement agents are planning a “large scale” immigration enforcement action by the end of the month, according to documents reviewed by The Times.

The purpose of such an action

Los Angeles is a city Trump repeatedly criticized throughout his multiple presidential campaigns.

The operation would be spearheaded by ICE and would focus on people who do not have legal status or who already have pending orders of removal, according to the document.

ICE did not respond to a request for comment.

Potential hurdles for ICE’s ability in carrying out a raid

A federal law enforcement source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said agents with the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles field offices are being called in to assist.

“They needed more bodies,” the official said.

A former federal law enforcement official, who said they had been informed about the recent preparations but spoke on the condition of anonymity fearing retaliation, also said FBI agents were being ordered to participate in pending ICE raids in Los Angeles. Neither official provided a date for the potential actions.

The active federal law enforcement official warned that plans could change due to the “chaotic” nature of the Trump administration’s first few weeks in power. There is also expected pushback from within some of the agencies that will be required to aid ICE.

What are local agencies saying about assisting?

ICE’s Enforcement Removal Operations in L.A. has posted regularly on X recently about people they’ve arrested, including a Mexican national convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, another wanted for murder in Mexico, a woman convicted of driving under the influence and an alleged Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang member.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller declined to comment on any upcoming large-scale operation, but said the agency has been assisting in immigration operations since the end of January.

Other federal agencies have been assisting ICE since last month, including the DEA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The DEA L.A. last month posted on X that it had participated in an operation tied to immigration enforcement.

“When asked to support immigration enforcement actions, we will review the capabilities and shift resources as necessary to provide support,” Matthew Allen, who leads the agency’s L.A. office, said in a statement.

Ginger Colburn, a spokesperson for the ATF, said Friday in an email that the agency has been assisting the Department of Homeland Security and other federal law enforcement partners with immigration enforcement efforts in Southern California since Jan. 26.

“To ensure operational security and the safety of our agents and partners, ATF does not disclose details of enforcement activities,” Colburn said.

For more on the operation, check out the full article here.

The week’s biggest stories

(Carlin Stiehl/For The Times)

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Crime, courts and policing

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Column One

Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

A month after the first signs of smoke and flame, victims are still mourning the loss of small things, a snapshot or a teacup. Communities have been robbed of the parks and libraries and churches where they used to gather. The Times asked readers affected by the devastation to tell us about what they lost and what it meant to them. Their stories reflect a jumble of emotions that catastrophe inevitably leaves in its wake.

More great reads

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For your weekend

(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Chris Pizzello/Invision / AP)

Going out

Staying in

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

They shared their first kiss while studying poetry in the foothills of the Rockies. “I’ll move anywhere with you,” she declared one year later. “Anywhere except L.A.” After a childhood on the suburban edges of a Midwestern prairie, she wanted big sky and mountains almost as much as she wanted him. But he won out, and they ended up here in his hometown. He had wooed her well. Now he wanted Los Angeles to seduce her. Would the love affair add a new partner or would Los Angeles prove to be a third wheel?

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Carlos Lozano, news editor

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