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Will Cinerama Dome ever reopen? Maybe.

Dome Center LLC, the company that owns the property along Sunset Boulevard upon which the iconic movie venue stands, filed an application for a conditional-use permit to sell alcohol for on-site consumption at the Cinerama Dome Theater and adjoined multiplex Tuesday.

According to the application filed by the company’s representative, Elizabeth Peterson-Gower of Place Weavers Inc., Dome Center is seeking a new permit that would “allow for the continued sale and dispensing of a full line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption in conjunction with the existing Cinerama Dome Theater, 14 auditoriums within the Arclight Cinemas Theater Complex, and restaurant/cafe with two outdoor dining terraces from 7:00 am – 4:00 am, daily.” This would be a renewal of the current 10-year permit, which expires Nov. 5.

The findings document filed with the City Planning Department also mentions that “when the theater reopens, it will bring additional jobs to Hollywood and reactivate the adjacent streets, increasing safety and once again bringing vibrancy to the surrounding area.” No timetable for this reopening was indicated.

A representative for Dome Center LLC did not respond immediately Friday to a request for comment.

The Cinerama Dome, which first opened in 1963, has been closed since it was shut down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. After it was announced in April 2021 that the beloved theater would remained closed even after the pandemic, it was revealed in December of that year that there were plans for the Cinerama Dome and the attached theater complex to eventually reopen.

In 2022, news that the property owners obtained a liquor license for the renamed “Cinerama Hollywood” fueled the L.A. film-loving community’s hope that the venue was still on track to return. But the Cinerama Dome’s doors have remained closed.

At a public hearing regarding the adjacent Blue Note Jazz Club in June, Peterson reportedly indicated that while there were not yet any definitive plans, the property owners had reached out to her to discuss the Cinerama Dome next. Perhaps this new permit application is a sign plans are finally coming together.

Fee paid by companies set to transform high-skill work visa system, upon which technology sector relies heavily.

United States President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation requiring a $100,000 application fee for companies seeking to sponsor workers H-1B visas.

Trump signed the proclamation during an event in the Oval Office, while also introducing a separate “gold card” visa for individuals to pay $1 million to expedite their immigration.

Administration officials said the change to the H1-B programme would assure that companies would only sponsor workers with the most rarified skill sets.

“We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that’s what’s gonna happen,” he said.

However, such a prohibitive fee will likely vastly transform the H-1B system, which was created in 1990 in an effort to boost industries with high-skilled, hard-to-fill jobs, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math.

The visas are reserved for people with bachelor’s degrees or higher and have historically been awarded via a lottery system.

The programme has come under increased scrutiny from the Trump administration amid a wider crackdown on immigration, which Trump has tied to boosting domestic labour.

As part of that campaign, the Trump administration has also sought to introduce more restrictive policies on international students studying in the US, including requiring access to social media accounts and a ban on foreign travellers from several countries.

The administration has previously considered changing the H-1B visa rules to favour higher-paying employers, essentially doing away with the lottery system.

Supporters of the H-1B programme say it brings the best and brightest to work in the US, creating an edge against foreign competitors.

Critics have long charged that companies have abused the programme, using it to pay lower wages and to impose fewer labour protections.

The technology sector would be the hardest hit by any major change.

This year, Amazon was by far the top recipient of H-1B visas, with more than 10,000 awarded. The company was followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple and Google.

Geographically, California has the highest number of H-1B workers, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Meanwhile, India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71 percent of approved beneficiaries. China was a distant second at 11.7 percent, according to government data.

The H-1B visas are approved for a period of three to six years.

Nearly two dozen television shows will receive incentives for shooting in California — including two series that relocated from Texas and Canada — in the first award period since the state bolstered its film and TV tax credit program earlier this summer.

The 22 shows were chosen amid a massive amount of interest in the state’s incentive program, which now has an annual cap of $750 million, up from $330 million. In this round, the California Film Commission saw a nearly 400% increase in applications, said Colleen Bell, the agency’s executive director.

“These enhancements to our program, they’re not just about curbing runaway production,” she said in an interview. “We’re building momentum to grow and expand production here in California.”

In total, the 22 shows were allocated $255.9 million in credits and are expected to generate about $1.1 billion of economic activity in California, she said. The productions are estimated to employ 6,500 cast and crew members and more than 46,000 background actors.

Of the 22 awarded series, 15 were new projects, five were recurring shows and two relocated from outside of California, including Tom Segura’s darkly comedic Netflix series “Bad Thoughts,” which previously filmed in Texas.

Apple TV+ comedy “The Studio” and legal thriller “Presumed Innocent” received production incentives, as did CBS’ “NCIS: Origins,” a new HBO series by comedian Larry David, a pilot called “Group Chat” from “black-ish” creator Kenya Barris and a new Hulu drama from Dan Fogelman of “Paradise” and “This is Us.” All of the qualified projects that applied were able to get a tax credit in this round, Bell said.

“California has long been the entertainment capital of the world — and the newly expanded film and TV tax credit program is keeping it that way,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “We’re not just protecting our legacy — we’re reminding the world why the Golden State remains the beating heart of film and television.”

Newsom called for an expansion of the state’s film and TV tax credit program late last year in an attempt to stem the tide of productions moving to other states or countries with lucrative incentive packages. Hollywood studios, producers, unions and other workers rallied around the issue for months, traveling up to Sacramento to lobby legislators about the importance of the entertainment industry to California’s economy.

In addition to the higher cap, the revamped program broadened the types of productions eligible for incentives, including half-hour television shows, certain large-scale competition shows and animated shorts, series and films.

For this round of incentives, the California Film Commission was able to consider all of the new categories except for animated shows and large-scale competition shows because those require new regulations that are being drafted, Bell said. Those categories could be eligible starting early next year, she said.

The new program provisions also upped the tax credit to as much as 35% of qualified expenditures for productions filmed in the greater Los Angeles area, and up to 40% for projects shot outside the region. For this application period, most of the series will shoot in the L.A. area, except for four that will shoot at least partially outside of that zone, Bell said.

“People want to shoot their projects here in California,” Bell said. “Now, decision makers are giving California a second look because we have made these important programmatic changes that have made us much more competitive with other jurisdictions.”

The T visa, an underutilized lifeline for immigrant survivors of human trafficking, is experiencing a sharp rise in applications, despite increasing processing times and deportation risks.

Also known as T nonimmigrant status, the visa allows people who have experienced severe forms of human trafficking to remain in the country for up to four years if they are helpful to law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of their trafficker. Approved applicants can work in the U.S., are eligible for certain state and federal benefits, and can apply for a green card after three years on the visa (or earlier if the criminal case is closed).

Julie Dahlstrom, founder and director of the Human Trafficking Clinic at Boston University, said increased awareness of the visa and the courts’ expanding definitions of trafficking may have contributed to the increase, along with mounting barriers to other pathways for immigrant relief.

Congress created the T visa in 2000 as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, intending to bolster law enforcement agencies’ capabilities to prosecute human trafficking crimes while offering protections to survivors. The same law also established the U visa, which provides legal status for victims who have suffered substantial abuse as a result of serious crimes including trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault. U visa applicants must also be willing to assist law enforcement in their investigation of these crimes.

“Many [applicants] are eligible for the U visa as well, but they’re taking now over 20 years for an individual to get access … so I think that has influenced lawyers and survivors, if they are eligible for the T visa … to go ahead and also file T visa applications,” Dahlstrom said. “Especially under the Trump administration, we’ve seen more barriers to asylum access, special immigrant juvenile status access, so I expect we’ll continue to see that move.”

USCIS updated the T visa rules in August 2024 with a process called called bona fide determination that gave survivors earlier access to benefits while their application is pending approval. It also granted them deferred action, which places individuals on a lower priority for removal proceedings.

Erika Gonzalez, training and technical assistance managing attorney from the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, explained that although early access to benefits had existed in the federal statute, it was never implemented because applications were processing fast enough to not need it.

“They have updated the [bona fide determination] process to now have a formal process to engage with, and it does parallel with the sharp increases in filing,” Gonzalez said.

As T visa applications rose, so too did approvals. Last year, the number of approvals broke 3,000 for the first time though it still fell short of the 5,000 cap.

Processing times for T visas have also increased, jumping from a median of 5.9 months in 2014 to 19.9 months this fiscal year.

Denial rates for T visas, meanwhile, have fluctuated.

“We were seeing increased denial rates under the prior Trump administration and then improved rates under Biden,” Dahlstrom said.

Denials can leave T visa applicants vulnerable to deportation. In 2018, USCIS began allowing removal proceedings if an application was rejected with a notice to appear (NTA).

According to a 2022 report co-written by Dahlstrom, which obtained USCIS data through Freedom of Information Act litigation, USCIS issued a total of 236 NTAs to denied T visa applicants from 2019 to 2021. President Biden rescinded this policy with a January 2021 executive order, but last February, USCIS published new guidance once more expanding the circumstances where the agency could issue NTAs.

These policies, alongside escalated coordination between law enforcement and other agencies, have heightened fear among survivors applying for the T visa, Dahlstrom explained.

“We are seeing in real time the results of including requirements around law enforcement engagement, especially when there’s greater cooperation with ICE and greater concerns about deportation,” Dahlstrom said. “These programs are being politicized and, in some ways, weaponized if you’re denied and you’re placed in proceedings.”

Since February’s policy update, at least one person has self-deported after Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied her stay despite her pending T visa application.

So far in the fiscal year 2025, USCIS has approved 1,035 T-visas and rejected 693, which surpasses the number rejected in each of the last four years.

“It’s too early to tell what we’re going to see, but if we continue to see these numbers, it’s both going to mean a rise in denials and very few cases adjudicated amidst more and more applications being filed, which is really troubling,” Dahlstrom said. “These are statutorily protected programs, but what they can do is really slow them down, make them ineffective just in the way that they’re processing applications.”

RESTORE your nail health with Boots’ five star buy that will leave them feeling stronger and longer in just one application.

Beauty fans have been racing to Boots to get their hands on this nourishing nail and cuticle care pen.

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The Boots product that will heal your nails

If you are looking to restore your nail health this summer, Boots may have the perfect solution.

The No 7 star product has become the latest craze amongst beauty enthusiasts.

The Nourishing Nail and Cuticle Care Pen has been billed as the ultimate solution to flaky, weak nails, and it won’t break the bank either.

Retailing for just £6.95 the treatment provides continuous moisture which nourishes the skin and promotes nail growth.

The product description recommends users massage the product into nails and cuticles once a day to see the best results.

This nail saviour has gone a storm with Boots shoppers, with the product receiving 100 five star reviews.

Glowing reveals for star nail product

One glowing review reads: “Absolutely the best cuticle cream I have used – very easy to use and super results.

“Having used more expensive brands I now realise that No 7 is the one I will always use in the future.”

Another delighted shopper added: “One one application and I have noticed a difference.

“My nails were flaky and split all the time. They are now actually growing without breaking.”

One happy customer also praised its affordable price point, writing: “Very cheap bur very good product!!!”

The hypo-allergenic product comes in a 10ml container.

How to keep your nails in pristine condition

Nail techs often recommend that avid acrylic and gel users take breaks in between every few sets, to give them a bit of a break.

If you’re looking to start the natural journey or are looking to just enhance nail condition, nail strengtheners and cuticle oils are a great place to start.

Other nail strengtheners and oil that The Sun recommends include OPI’s Nail Envy, Sally Hansen’s Miracle Cure, and Jessica’s Bend Don’t Break.

If you are in the market for another more affordable option, Barry M’s Mani Hero is less than £5 and promises to be a great quality, budget-friendly alternative.

Earlier this month, nail pro Sarah Green, also told The Sun the four things people should avoid doing to keep them in good condition.

Among her pro tips were avoiding using hot water, using UV protection and applying cuticle oil.

Following this advice may help ensure your at-home manicure stays in pristine condition and chip-free for much longer.

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An experiment intended to rid “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum Brandi Glanville of a facial parasite left the former reality TV star with chemical burns.

In a short video posted to TikTok on Sunday that is a little startling and also a little painful-looking, Glanville, 52, said that she decided to use Nair to try to eradicate the parasite. However, the popular hair removal product aggravated her skin, leaving her with apparent chemical burns.

“I know I look attractive,” she joked. “Good news, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on peels and lasers anymore.”

During the clip, she referred to the parasite as “Caroline,” a possible reference to her “Real Housewives” rival Caroline Manzo. In January 2023, Manzo accused Glanville of sexual assault during filming. This led to both of them departing the Morocco set of “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.” That was also where Glanville previously said she might have contracted the parasite.

Glanville has denied all claims Manzo has made against her, calling them absurd, Page Six reports.

In her TikTok video, Glanville claims the Nair successfully moved the parasite (“Caroline”) to a different part of her face upon application.

“Nair is the fountain of youth, I figured it out,” she said. “But I overdid it … seven minutes, don’t do it.”

The first time Glanville shared information regarding the parasite, she claimed that she had consulted “every doctor under the sun” but to no avail. The mysterious condition was said to have left her with frequent facial swelling and missing teeth.

She told ET in December 2024 that she’d suspected a parasite had made its way into her system after the filming in Morocco.

“We had food sitting out for hours on end, and some of it was meat,” she said, adding that medical complications began six months later.

Glanville claimed that she had since spent more than $70,000 on noninvasive procedures to pinpoint exactly what was going on. Notably, she was on IV antibiotics that alleviated swelling but proved to be too expensive.

“I’ve been on meds this whole year. I don’t socialize. I don’t go out,” she said at the time.

More than 800 homeowners in Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other areas affected by January’s wildfires have applied for rebuilding permits, according to a Times analysis of local government permitting data.

Of those, at least 145 have received approval to start construction on major repairs or replacement of their homes in the cities of Los Angeles, Malibu and Pasadena and in Altadena and other unincorporated areas of L.A. County, the analysis found.

At events this week commemorating the fires’ six-month mark, state and local leaders have celebrated the pace of cleanup efforts, touting their completion months ahead of schedule. Nearly 13,000 households were displaced by the Palisades and Eaton fires, which ripped through the communities Jan. 7 and 8.

“Now we turn the page to rebuilding, and we’re doing it with a clear plan, strong partnerships and the urgency this moment demands,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

Weekly data analyzed by The Times show an increasing pace of permit applications submitted to local authorities. Homeowners, architects and contractors working on approved projects praised the process as speedy and efficient. But some residents said that despite official promises of removing barriers and rapid turnarounds, they’ve been mired in delays.

At many sites, construction is already underway. Five years ago, while pregnant with her second child, Alexis Le Guier and her husband, Andrew, moved into a newly constructed five-bedroom home in the Palisades’ Alphabet Streets area. A lifelong Angeleno, Le Guier wanted to take advantage of the neighborhood‘s schools and walkability, as well as live closer to her parents in Brentwood. The day after the fire, they started making calls to rebuild their home.

“The thought of moving was unfathomable,” said Le Guier, 41. “Of course I’m coming back. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

The Le Guiers, who were underinsured, benefited from having recent architectural plans, which saved them significant time and money. They made minor changes before submitting them to the city and received their permit 40 days later in early June. Their foundation was poured last week and lumber was delivered to the site soon after.

“The thought of moving was unfathomable,” said Alexis Le Guier, 41. “Of course I’m coming back. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Many of the homeowners who have secured permits similarly had recent plans to work from or other advantages, such as quick insurance payouts, according to several architects and contractors. State and local officials have attempted to streamline the permitting process, especially for those who want to build homes comparable to the ones destroyed, by waiving some development rules and fees and opening “one-stop” centers that centralize planning and building reviews.

Jason Somers, president of Crest Real Estate, a development firm, said the efforts have helped city plan checkers respond to applications with urgency.

“They are getting us permits quicker than we’ve ever seen before,” Somers said.

Somers’ firm is working on nearly 100 fire rebuilding projects, primarily in Pacific Palisades. Most of its clients, Somers said, aren’t ready to submit plans because they’re designing custom homes different from what they had previously. Somers said the city’s response so far encouraged him, but the test would come as the volume of applications increased.

“We shall see what the workflow looks like when we see 1,000 projects,” he said.

As of July 6, 389 homeowners had submitted applications to rebuild in the Palisades, roughly 8% of the 4,700 residential properties destroyed or majorly damaged by the fire, according to The Times’ analysis.

Property owners often need multiple permits. In addition to one for the main structure, the process might involve permits for demolition, electrical infrastructure, swimming pools, if included, and more. The Times’ analysis counts one application for each address no matter how many supplemental permits may be required. Additionally, the L.A. County data are limited to submissions that already have cleared an initial review by county planners.

Generally, applications at both the city and county level have been rising every week. The week of June 22 had the largest number for both the city and county with 36 and 34 submissions, respectively.

The city has approved nearly a quarter of those it’s received. L.A. County has issued permits for 15% of its 352 applications as of July 6, covering Altadena and unincorporated areas affected by the Palisades fire. In Pasadena, 20 property owners have submitted with two approved. For Malibu, 77 homeowners have submitted applications with none approved.

On average, it’s taken 55 days for the city of L.A. to issue a permit, including time it’s waited for applicants to respond to corrections, The Times’ analysis shows. The county process is slower. Once an application has been cleared by county planners, it’s been another 60 days on average for a building permit to be issued, according to the analysis.

Newsom and others, notably former L.A. mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, have criticized the pace of permitting, saying that recovery should be further along. On social media, fire survivors have lamented the red tape they’ve encountered.

Roberto Covarrubias, who has lived with his family in Altadena for a decade, said county officials haven’t delivered on their promises to make the process as fast as possible. His home was built in 2009 and he went to various offices seeking the original architectural plans — his paper copies burned in the fire — only to be told they didn’t exist. Weeks later, after Covarrubias hired a new architect, the county said it had located electronic plans for his old house.

Covarrubias wants to add a cellar to his new home to house the water heater and other machinery. County officials told him doing so would require additional soil testing, which he estimated would take a month and cost another $7,000. After three weeks of back-and-forth with his architect, Covarrubias said the county relented.

Any delay matters, he said. He wants to get ahead of the rush for workers and materials. And his insurance company will not release his payout until his rebuild permits are approved.

“It’s like a waterfall effect,” said Covarrubias, 50, an IT engineer.

His project remains in the permitting pipeline.

City and county officials have had to work through growing pains as they’ve attempted to implement the flurry of executive orders and programs designed to speed rebuilding.

Property owners had waited weeks in the spring, for instance, for guidelines on accessory dwelling unit construction. Last month, after sustained pressure from homeowners, the county agreed to waive permitting fees and refund those who already have paid. (The city waived its fees in April.) Both the city and the county continue testing ballyhooed artificial intelligence software to offer instant corrections to initial permit applications, with activation scheduled for this month.

The city has no immediate plans to hire additional staff or contractors to review permits because its staff is meeting its benchmarks for reviews, according to Gail Gaddi, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.

“However, we will continue to assess the needs of the department and will consider any adjustments as needed,” Gaddi said.

By contrast, County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents areas affected by the Eaton fire, believes the county will need to add to its workforce to meet the demand.

“There needs to be additional staffing whether it’s contractors or permanent staffing,” said Helen Chavez Garcia, a spokesperson for the supervisor.

One of the more promising ways to expedite permitting is through preapproved architectural designs. The idea is that property owners could pick a model home that local governments already have signed off on, meaning the only further review needed was for issues specific to individual sites. The process has been credited for helping rapid recovery in Santa Rosa after the 2017 Tubbs fire.

Here, Somers’ firm is developing a suite of 50 plans called Case Study 2.0, named after the mid-20th century showcase of Southern California architecture. A newly formed San Gabriel Valley nonprofit, the Foothill Catalog Foundation, separately is hoping to design 50 model homes by the end of the year, said Alex Athenson, an architect and co-founder of the initiative. The catalog has had one design, a three-bedroom bungalow called “The Lewis,” approved by L.A. County. Athenson expects to submit nine more by the end of the month.

If a homeowner chooses a preapproved home, Athenson said, the entire permitting process could take two weeks or less.

“It would be incredible if homeowners can have that ease of access to starting construction,” Athenson said.

Gymnast and social media influencer Olivia Dunne was all set to buy her first home. And it wasn’t just any home.

Dunne had a contract in place to buy a $1.6-million apartment that was once owned by baseball great Babe Ruth on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

But it ended up not being a Dunne deal.

The recent Louisiana State graduate known to her fans as “Livvy” won’t be moving into the former digs of the player known to fans as “the Bambino,” because the building’s co-op board rejected her application.

In a video posted to TikTok on Tuesday, Dunne told her 8 million followers that she is “so upset” after coming so close to residing in the same seventh-floor apartment where the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox legend is said to have lived from 1929 to 1940.

“It was Babe Ruth’s apartment,” said Dunne, who grew up less than an hour away in Hillside, N.J. “So naturally, like, I’m telling everybody. I’m excited. I was gonna buy it and I was gonna pay with cash, like I wanted this apartment bad.”

The 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model said her real estate agent “was so confident” the deal would go through that she brought boyfriend Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ All-Star pitcher and 2024 National League rookie of the year, to see the place.

“I got an interior designer because I didn’t want to bring my college furniture to Babe Ruth’s apartment — that would be like, criminal,” Dunne said. “Then the week that I’m supposed to get my keys to my brand new apartment, I get a call. The co-op board denied me.”

The listing agent confirmed to The Times that Dunne had made an offer on the property that was accepted by the seller and, as the final step in the process, turned in an application for the purchase for the co-op board’s approval. The board rejected that application about three weeks ago, the agent said.

No explanation was given for the rejection, although Dunne has her theories.

“For all I know, they could have been Alabama fans and I went to LSU,” she joked. “I have no clue. Maybe they didn’t want a public figure living there. But I was literally supposed to get the keys, and that week they denied me.”

She added: “Long story short, don’t try to live in a co-op. You might get denied and you won’t get Babe Ruth’s apartment.”

WASHINGTON — Building the border wall. Increasing detention capacity. Hiring thousands of immigration agents.

The budget bill narrowly approved by the Senate on Tuesday includes massive funding infusions — roughly $150 billion — toward immigration and border enforcement. If passed, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will cement Trump’s hard-line legacy on immigration.

The budget bill would make Immigration and Customs Enforcement the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the federal government, exceeding its current yearly $3.4-billion detention budget many times over. It also would impose fees on immigration services that were once free or less expensive and make it easier for local law enforcement to work with federal authorities on immigration.

The 940-page Senate bill will now head back to the House, which passed its version in May, also by one vote, 215-214. The two chambers must now reconcile the two versions of the bill.

Though the legislation is still evolving, the immigration provisions in the House and Senate versions are similar and not subject to the intense debates on other issues, such as Medicaid or taxes.

Many of the funds would be available for four years, though some have longer or shorter timelines. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that, if enacted, the bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.5 trillion over the next 10 years.

Here are key elements concerning immigration:

Border wall

• $46.5 billion toward fortifying the U.S.-Mexico border wall and interdicting migrant smugglers at sea.

This includes construction and installation of barrier sections, building access roads, and barrier-related technology, such as cameras, lights and sensors. The legislation doesn’t reference specific locations.

Trump, in his first term, repeatedly vowed that Mexico would pay for the wall. It didn’t.

Staffing

• $32 billion for immigration enforcement, including staffing of ICE and expanding so-called 287(g) agreements, in which state and local law enforcement agencies partner with federal authorities to deport immigrants.
• $7 billion for hiring Border Patrol agents, customs officers at ports of entry, air and marine agents and field support staff; retention bonuses; and vehicles.
• $3.3 billion to hire immigration judges and support staff, among other provisions.

Trump has said he wants to hire 10,000 ICE agents, as well as 3,000 Border Patrol agents.

Detention

• $45 billion to build and operate immigrant detention facilities and to transport those being deported.
• $5 billion for new Customs and Border Protection facilities and improvements to existing facilities and checkpoints. It’s unclear how this could affect California or the well-known Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 5 near San Onofre.

The bill allows for families pending a removal decision to be detained indefinitely. Heidi Altman, vice president of policy at the National Immigration Law Center, called that a blatant violation of the so-called Flores settlement agreement, which has been in place since 1977 and limits the amount of time children can legally be detained to 20 days.

Local assistance

• $13.5 billion to reimburse states and local governments for immigration-related costs. These are divided into two pots of funding: $10 billion for the “state border security reinforcement fund” and the “Bridging Immigration-related Deficits Experienced Nationwide” or BIDEN fund. Both would fund the arrest of immigrants by local law enforcement who unlawfully entered the U.S. and committed any crime.

Altman said: “You can think of it like a gift for [Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott.”

Immigration fees

• A fee of at least $100 for those seeking asylum, down from a $1,000 fee outlined in the House bill. Applicants also would pay $100 every year the application remains pending. This is unprecedented — a fee has never before been imposed on migrants fleeing persecution.
• At least $550 ($275 on renewal) to apply for employment authorization for those with asylum applications, humanitarian parole and temporary protected status. Currently there is no fee for asylum seekers and a $470 fee for others.
• At least $500 for temporary protected status, up from $80 including biometrics.

The stated fees are minimums — the bill allows for annual increases and, for many, prohibits waivers based on financial need.

“The paradox of a fee for an employment authorization document is that you’re not allowed to work, but you need to pay for the fee,” said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst with the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

Altman noted that imposing a yearly fee on asylum seekers for their pending applications punishes people for the U.S. government’s own backlogged system, which is out of the applicant’s control.

Other sections exclude lawfully present immigrants, such as refugees and those granted asylum, from benefits including Medicare, Medicaid and the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). Another provision excludes children from the Child Tax Credit if their parent lacks a Social Security number.

Praise and scorn

Altman, whose organization has closely tracked the immigration aspects of the funding bill, said people can look at the bill two ways: big picture — as a $150-billion infusion to supercharge what the Trump administration has already started — or surgically, as a series of policy changes that will not be easy to undo “and make an already corrupt system subject to even fewer safeguards and really go after people’s most basic needs.”

Bush-Joseph had a different view. She said the funding reinforces an outdated and inflexible immigration system without fundamentally changing it.

“That’s why there’s all this money going to the border even though there aren’t a lot of people coming now,” she said.

Money alone won’t change things overnight, said Bush-Joseph. It takes time to hire people and to open detention facilities. Immigration judges will still have a massive backlog of cases. And getting foreign countries to agree to accept more deportees is tricky.

“Arresting and detaining people with private contractors doesn’t get you to an agreement from El Salvador to take five more planes per week,” she said.

During a White House event June 26, Trump urged Congress to pass the bill quickly, saying it “will be the single most important piece of border legislation to ever come across the floor of Congress.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of three senators who voted against the bill Tuesday, had called it “reckless spending,” writing on X: “I’m all for hiring new people to help secure our borders, but we don’t need it to the extent that’s in this bill, especially when our border is largely contained.”

Across the political aisle, Democrats including California Sen. Alex Padilla have slammed the bill, saying the immigration-related funding increases amount to a substantial policy change.

“You would think that maybe just for a moment, Republicans would take this reconciliation process as an opportunity to do what they said before they wanted to do and modernize our nation’s immigration system,” Padilla said last month. “But they’re not.”