Lopez

A new study from the Pew Research Center released Thursday shows that the number of unauthorized immigrants — the organization’s terminology for undocumented people — reached an all-time high of 14 million people in 2023. That’s up 3.5 million from 2021, which marks the largest two-year jump the center has recorded.

Pew has sub-categorized unauthorized immigrants in two groups: those with deportation protections and those without.

“There are some people who enter the country without authorization and have remained in that status since,” the director of race and ethnicity research at Pew, Mark Hugo Lopez, told The Times. “There are others who may have come to the U.S. legally — for example on an H-1B visa — but their visa expired, they overstayed their visa and are now also classified as unauthorized immigrants, even though they entered the country legally.”

Lopez went on to explain that there’s another subset: people who entered the country without authorization but are granted a number of exemptions, particularly temporary protection from deportation through different programs. This includes people like those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or those who are in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Unauthorized immigrants with protections were largely responsible for the increase from 2021 to 2023, Pew found.

Overall, unauthorized immigrants made up 27% of the total foreign-born population in the U.S. in 2023, with 8 million having no protections and 6 million having some level of protection.

California led the country with the largest unauthorized immigrant population at 2.3 million people, followed by Texas with 2.1 million people and Florida with 1.6 million people. The Sunshine State had the largest increase in the demographic from 2021 to 2023, probably due to then-President Biden’s immigration policies — such as the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole program.

When it came to families with mixed status, most children — 4.6 million out of 6.1 million — living with an unauthorized immigrant parent are U.S. citizens.

In regard to the U.S. workforce, unauthorized immigrants made up 5.6% of the national workforce. In California, unauthorized immigrants made up 8% of the statewide workforce by 2023.

One aspect of the research that stood out to Lopez the most was the shift in where immigrants to the U.S. are coming from, even if the country with the most people coming to the States remains the same.

“Unauthorized immigrants from Mexico are still the single largest group of unauthorized immigrants, but there are immigrants coming from many other parts of the world: from China, from India, from countries in Africa, from other parts of Latin America, including Venezuela,” Lopez noted.

Though the results of the latest Pew report focused on in-depth research of data from 2021 to 2023, the center acknowledged the new state of affairs for unauthorized immigrants over the last two years.

“The Trump administration, and the Biden administration as well, has changed who has protections and those who don’t,” Lopez said. “One large group — those in the CHNV program — had temporary protections from deportations and even permits to work in the United States temporarily. However, the Trump administration has revoked those protections, and now those immigrants are are no longer protected from possible deportation.”

Based on statistics from the Department of Homeland Security and other available government data, Pew estimates that the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population probably continued to increase through mid-2024. With the start of the new year and new presidency in 2025, Pew estimates that the unauthorized immigrant population probably declined by quite possibly as much as 1 million people. Despite that falloff, it is still believed that — as of July 2025 — the unauthorized immigrant population “almost surely” remains higher than in July 2023.

In January 2025, the census estimated the U.S. foreign-born population at an all-time high of 53.3 million people (15.8% of the total U.S. population). The agency’s data showed a decline during the first six months of 2025 and by June 2025, the foreign-born population was 51.9 million — a drop of 1.5 million people from its peak in January.

That change in data may be attributed to several different factors, Lopez pointed out.

“That may be a real decline, but it also may be that perhaps what we are seeing is a change in the way people are responding to the survey,” he said. “Or perhaps people are not responding to the survey at all, which may have an impact on our estimate of how many immigrants live in the country.”

Regarding the effect of self-deportations on the overall immigrants population in the U.S., Lopez said there is currently no data available to Pew that can definitively point to how much that process has affected the population.

“People make decisions to return to their home countries or maybe go to another country to pursue opportunities, whether economic or otherwise,” he explained. “So the idea of a particular self-deportation is really more that maybe people were choosing to leave and they’ve left in the last few months and it has more to do with their own opportunities or other decisions. While it would be great to know whether or not self-deportation has happened and how much so, we need more data to be able to give a precise estimate for that.”

With many uncertainties regarding potential future difficulties in gathering demographic information, Lopez acknowledged that Pew will have to adapt to the times.

“It is possible that we may have to make further adjustments to our estimate to capture undercount and other challenges in collecting data about immigrants and particularly unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.,” he said.

Trump’s anti-immigrant policies are driving even U.S. citizens away

De Los reporter Andrea Flores wrote about an ongoing trend of seeking dual citizenship, both among the U.S. Latinx population and the general population.

“Are we even safe as American citizens?” asked L.A. resident Julie Ear in a video interview with The Times’ Diana Ramirez Santacruz — citing instances in which U.S. citizens have been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “ Even though we were born here, we don’t know if we’re gonna be safe long term.”

This year, Ear documented her mother’s self-deportation at the Tijuana airport in a TikTok video that has garnered 9.3 million views.

Longtime Angeleno Nicole Macias applied for dual Mexican citizenship last year and has since turned to social media to educate others about the dual citizenship process.

“The political climate right now in Los Angeles is really crazy. A lot of people just feel unsafe,” Macias told The Times. “A lot of people are turning back to this idea of being able to go back to Mexico and have an easier lifestyle.”

This trend also applies to non-Latinx U.S. citizens. A record number of Americans applied for British citizenship between January and March, according the U.K. government. Some Canadian lawyers also noticed an uptick in Americans seeking Canadian citizenship in recent months, with many citing political uncertainty in the U.S. as a motivating factor.

In the wake of ICE raids in L.A., artists band together for immigrants

Curator Love, Este Hogar no le abre la puerta a I.C.E.

(Amelia Tabullo)

De Los contributing writer Sarah Quiñones Wolfson wrote about how members of the L.A. arts community are using their work to raise funds to support immigrants in the city.

Quiñones Wolfson spoke with a slew of artists whose work depicts and benefits the L.A.’s vibrant and vital immigrant populations. Included in the article are striking photos of the previously mentioned artwork with a message.

In the piece, Erika Hirugami — an academic curator and founder of the immigrant-focused art enterprise CuratorLove — introduced me to the inclusive phrase “undocplus” (also spelled “undoc+”) which refers to formerly or currently undocumented people, emphasizing a shared lived experience.

Stories we read this week that we think you should read

Stories we read this week that we think you should read
Unless otherwise noted, all stories in this section are from the L.A. Times.

Immigration and the border

Politics

Climate

Education

Arts and Entertainment

California-specific agony

(Jackie Rivera / For The Times; Martina Ibáñez-Baldor / Los Angeles Times)

An 18-year-old man has been arrested after the sex toy he allegedly threw during a WNBA game in Phoenix hit a man and possibly a young girl sitting in front of him.

It is one of at least five recent incidents of such objects being thrown by fans at a WNBA game and the second so far to result in an arrest.

Waddell, Ariz., resident Kaden Lopez was booked on suspicion of one felony count for public display of obscene materials and two misdemeanor counts for assault and disorderly conduct. He appeared in court Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance, with his next court appearance scheduled for Aug. 21.

According to a probable cause statement filed by the arresting officer from the Phoenix Police Dept. and viewed by The Times, Lopez was attending the Mercury’s game against the Connecticut Sun at PHX Arena on Tuesday when he “threw a green dildo towards the seats in front of him.”

The statement initially indicates that the object allegedly struck an “adult male victim as well as the victims 9 year old niece.” The document later states that the “male victim” told officers that the object hit him on the back and “then fell to the ground next to them.”

Lopez then attempted to leave the arena, the statement reads, but an arena volunteer who witnessed the alleged incident followed him, tackled him and waited for authorities to arrive.

According to the statement, Lopez told the arresting officers that he bought the toy the previous day to take with him to the game but had not intended for it to “hit anyone” or “fall next to a child.”

“Lopez stated he was very sorry, that it was just a stupid prank that was trending on social media,” the statement added.

The trend of throwing sex toys — seemingly always colored green — at WNBA games appears to have started July 29, when one of the objects was tossed onto the court while the Golden State Valkyries played the Atlanta Dream at Gateway Center Arena. The WNBA announced Saturday that “the subject involved in the incident in Atlanta has been arrested.”

According to an ESPN report, 23-year-old Delbert Carver was arrested on Saturday by College Park, Ga., police in connection with that incident. Carver allegedly told police that the stunt was meant as a joke to go viral.

Court records show that Carver faces counts of criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and public indecency. He was released on bond for an undisclosed amount on Sunday and was scheduled to appear in court the following day.

On Aug. 1, a sex toy was tossed under the basket during a game between the Valkyries and the Chicago Sky. Then, during the Sparks’ win over the Indiana Fever at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday, another such object landed in the paint near Fever guard Sophie Cunningham with 2:05 remaining in the first half.

A fan video also appears to show one of the objects being thrown toward the court and nearly hitting a child while the Dallas Wings played the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on Tuesday.

According to a USA Today report Thursday, a cryptocurrency group is claiming responsibility for some of the incidents, although it says neither Lopez nor Carver is affiliated with the group. The “pranks” are part of a protest against the “toxic” environment in the crypto world, according to the report, and more such stunts have allegedly been planned.

The WNBA declined to comment for this article and instead referred The Times to a statement it released Saturday.

“The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league,” the league stated. “Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans. In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”

He’s not for sale, Main

Manchester United have reportedly performed a U-turn on the prospect of selling Kobbie Mainoo to help balance the books.

That’s according to former club scout Mick Brown, who told Football Insider: “There are a number of players Man United want to get rid of.

“From what I understand, Kobbie Mainoo is not one of them after a change of mind.

“The likes of Garnacho, Sancho and the others who have been left out of training in pre-season, that’s who the club are looking to raise money from.

“In my opinion, they should never have been considering letting Kobbie Mainoo go, it was a crazy idea.

“After he didn’t sign that new contract, it looked like he had decided he wanted to leave.

“That interest didn’t really come as heavily as they maybe expected, but I won’t complain about that.

“From what I hear, he’s going to be happy to stay into the new season and hopes he’ll be a bigger part of the team as Amorim is going to use him more regularly.”

LAS VEGAS — The Clippers team Brook Lopez grew up watching as a young kid in Southern California is not that same franchise anymore.

These Clippers are about putting a winning product on the court and about putting together the right talent to win games — and that is what sold Lopez on signing with them.

“It’s crazy to see, but it’s very cool — seeing the climb, the ascent,” Lopez said Monday afternoon at a news conference hours before the Clippers and Lakers played each other in an NBA Summer League game at Nevada Las Vegas. “I’m a Cali boy. I grew up in the Valley, in North Hollywood. Obviously things were very different back then and to see where the Clippers have come now, it’s just astonishing, it’s beautiful. I’m glad to be a part of it and hopefully I can help take them even further up.”

Lopez decided not to return to the Bucks after seven seasons in Milwaukee and opted not to sign with the Lakers, joining the Clippers on a two-year, $18-million deal.

He liked the idea of playing with Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac, a former teammate when they played on the Lakers in 2017-18, and for Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. Lopez also had a connection with Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations. Frank was the coach of the New Jersey Nets when Lopez was there.

“Looking at my options, I was just thrilled the Clippers reached out and were one of them,” Lopez said. “They’ve been a great team for quite a while now. They have a ton of great players, obviously Hall of Famers, All-Stars, great young players. My guy Zubi! And there is a great chance to win a championship here.”

Clippers center Ivica Zubac, right, blocks a shot by Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray in Game 3 of the first round of the NBA playoffs on April 26.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Over the course of his career, Lopez has been a starting center. He played in 80 games last season with the Bucks, averaging 31.8 minutes per game. And he was still productive at 37, averaging 13 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.9 blocks, while shooting 50.9% from the floor and 37.3% from three-point range.

But Zubac has emerged as one of the top centers in the NBA, even making the NBA’s All-Defensive second team.

Out of the 1,105 regular-season games Lopez has played, he has started in 1,064. With the Clippers, however, he’ll likely come off the bench.

“I’m just trying to come in and help the team win,” Lopez said. “Whatever that may look like, that’s what I’m here to do. Wherever my minutes may come from when I’m on the court, the beginning of the game, middle of the game, end of the game, I’m trying to be out there trying to help my team win and beat the other team on the court.”

Because he can stretch the floor with his outside shooting, the 7-foot-1 Lopez can see a world in which he and 7-0 Zubac are on the court playing together.

“I think we complement each other extremely well,” Lopez said. “Obviously, we’ll be very big. I think we’ll be great defensively, just dominating the paint, sealing the paint off. And then offensively, we complement each other there as well. I’ll spread the floor for him, give him all the room in the paint to go wild.”

When the Bucks visited the Clippers last season, Lopez got to see the Intuit Dome.

He was impressed by the arena that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer built and that also played a role in his decision.

“He texted me right away, (saying) how excited he was to have me on the team,” Lopez said. “I told him the same thing back. I’m excited to win and I think that’s what we’re all here for and it’s going to be so much fun.”

Part of a trio made up of Putellas and Aitana Bonmati, who both are two-time Ballon d’Or winners, Patri’s work at the base of Spain’s – and Barcelona’s – midfield often goes unnoticed.

But the 27-year-old “runs the show” according to Corsie, who added: “She’s the one… you see she starts everything, she controls the tempo, she chooses when they settle the game down.”

Spain boss Montse Tome said she believes Patri is the “best player in her position”.

“It’s not an easy position because it’s not well recognised from the outside and I believe her personality, she is humble, she is a hard worker and this means Aitana [Bonmati], Alexia [Putellas], Vicky [Lopez], Mariona [Caldentey] and [Claudia] Pina play more freely and Patri is key for that.”

Asked about Tome’s comments, Patri said: “I feel super happy and super proud knowing the coach said that about me.

“For the game model we have, midfielders have to participate because then everything flows and the team feels confident.”

As well as setting the pace and freeing up space for her team-mates, Patri proved she’s got an eye for goal, with a drilled finish giving Spain the lead against Italy.

Nathaniel was shy in our first encounter a few months ago, if not a little wary. He took a step back when I approached to say I liked the way his violin music turned the clatter around downtown L.A.’s Pershing Square into an urban symphony.

“Oh, thank you very much,” he said politely, apologizing for his appearance. He had gone through a couple of recent setbacks, Nathaniel said, but he intended to be whole again soon and playing at a higher level.

Next time I saw him, he had relocated to the mouth of the 2nd Street tunnel near Hill Street.

“Well, first of all, it’s beautiful here,” said Nathaniel, 54, who told me he had been diagnosed many years ago with schizophrenia. “And right there is the Los Angeles Times building. New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles. All I have to do is look up at that building and I know where I am.”

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Nathaniel had an orange shopping cart that contained all of his belongings, including a huge plastic water gun, a single black boot and his violin case. We were practically in the shadow of the new Disney Concert Hall, and although Nathaniel said he wasn’t sure where it was, he had written the following on the side of his shopping cart:

“Little Walt Disney Concert Hall — Beethoven.”

Nathaniel plays classical music, some of it recognizable to me, some of it not. One day, I asked if he could play jazz, and he tucked the violin under his chin, closed his eyes in anticipation of the ecstasy that music brings him and began to play “Summertime.”

He doesn’t always hit every note, but it’s abundantly clear that Nathaniel has been a student of music for many years.

Ayers drags his belongings in a shopping cart he calls “Little Walt Disney Concert Hall” on the streets of Los Angeles’ skid row.

(Los Angeles Times)

“That was Ernest Bloch,” he casually told me after one piece, spelling out Ernest and then Bloch. “Opus 18, No. 1.”

I was more than a little impressed, especially when it occurred to me that Nathaniel’s grimy, smudged violin was missing two of the four strings.

“Yeah,” he said, frustration rising in his brown eyes. “This one’s gone, that one’s gone and this little guy’s almost out of commission. You see where it’s coming apart right here?”

Playing with two strings wasn’t that hard, he said, because he began his music education in the Cleveland public schools, where the instruments were often a challenge.

“If you got one with one or two strings,” he said, “you were happy to have it.”

I noticed an empty bag from Studio City Music in Nathaniel’s violin case and gave the store a call to ask if they had a homeless customer.

“Black man?” asked Hans Benning, a violin maker. “We do have a guy who plays with a badly beaten-up fiddle. He comes here every so often. He’s very kind, very gentle and very proper. He’s a delight.”

I told Benning his name is Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, and he seems to know a thing or two about music.

“Yes, he does,” Benning said. “He talks about the Beethoven sonatas and then slips back into another world.”

The reason he used to hang around Pershing Square, Nathaniel told me, was so he could study the Beethoven statue for inspiration.

“I’ve never seen anything in my life that great,” he said. “I’m flabbergasted by that statue because I can’t imagine how he’s there. I don’t know how God is operating.”

When I asked more about his training, Nathaniel told me he had gone to Ohio University and Ohio State University. He also said he’d played many times at the Aspen Music Festival, and he’d gone to Juilliard for two years in the early ‘70s.

Juilliard? I asked.

“I was there for a couple of years,” he said, as if it were nothing.

While waiting for a callback from Juilliard, I called Motter’s Music House in Lyndhurst, Ohio. Nathaniel told me he had bought many instruments there over the years, including the Glaesel violin he now owns.

“He’s an outstanding player,” said Ron Guzzo, a manager at Motter’s. He saw a lot of Nathaniel over a span of 20 years, because Nathaniel’s instruments were often stolen from him on the streets. He would work at a Wendy’s or shovel snow to save up for another.

“As I understand it, he was at Juilliard and got sick, so he came back home. He’d sit out in our parking lot on a nice day playing the cello, and we’d wonder where the heck that was coming from. It was Tony,” Guzzo said, using Nathaniel’s nickname.

Cello? Yes, it turns out Nathaniel started on the bass, switched to cello and has never had any training on the violin. He switched to the latter after ending up on the streets, because it fits more neatly into his shopping cart.

Everything he had told me about his life was checking out, so I figured Juilliard must be for real too.

Sure enough.

Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, who sleeps on the streets of the city, takes his meals at the Midnight Mission and plays a two-string violin, attended the acclaimed New York City music school on a scholarship.

Ayers looks at the calendar outside Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

(Los Angeles Times)

Nathaniel told me a bass player named Homer Mensch was one of his mentors at Juilliard. Mensch, 91, is still teaching, and he immediately recalled Nathaniel.

“He had the talent, that was for sure,” said Mensch, who remembered that Nathaniel had suddenly disappeared, never to return. I told him Nathaniel’s illness had begun while he was at Juilliard and he was now a homeless violinist in downtown L.A.

“Give him my very best,” said Mensch. “I would certainly like to hear from him.”

Nathaniel has memorized the phone numbers of the people who inspired him. To recall the numbers, he writes them in mid-air with his index finger. One day he gave me the home phone number of Harry Barnoff, a bass player and former teacher who recently retired after 46 years with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Barnoff was in tears at the memory of Nathaniel.

“Please,” Barnoff pleaded, “you have got to go tell him how much I think of him and that I still remember what a wonderful musician he was.”

Barnoff says Nathaniel was a bit of a slacker when he was in junior high and taking lessons at the Cleveland Music School Settlement. But with encouragement, Nathaniel set the highest possible goals for himself.

“During the riots, he was in the music building, practicing. He really worked at it and got to where he knew I had gone to Juilliard, and he wanted to go, too. … Next thing I knew, he got a scholarship.”

Nathaniel had the potential to play with any of the major orchestras in the United States, Barnoff said. He tried to help Nathaniel through his most difficult times, offering him work around his house and taking Nathaniel’s calls from mental hospitals and the streets.

Nathaniel was often in a state of distress, Barnoff says of his former student, until they began talking about music. And then everything was right with the world.

“He once sent me a card saying he would give his left hand for me,” Barnoff said.

I got hold of Nathaniel’s sister, Jennifer Ayers-Moore, at her home in Fayetteville, Ga. She was relieved to hear that her older brother is OK but disturbed to know he’s on the streets — again.

He was never the same after he got back from New York, Ayers-Moore said, and he has been in and out of hospitals and group homes for three decades. Time after time, he has tested the patience of the people who love him.

“It got to the point where he didn’t want to talk to anybody and didn’t want to be in reality. I couldn’t watch the movie ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ because every stitch of it reminded me of Nathaniel.”

As do so many schizophrenics, Ayers-Moore says, her brother would improve with medication but then refuse to take it and slip back into his tortured world.

“It was very difficult for my mother, because he would curse her out, call her names, threaten her. When we went to visit her in the nursing home on her birthday, she looked at me and said, ‘I miss Tony.’ He was her pride and joy, and she did everything she possibly could to help him.”

Nathaniel talks often of his mother, expressing his love in his own way.

“She was a beautician,” he said. “That’s beauty. And music is beauty, so I guess that’s why I started playing.”

Nathaniel came west after his mother’s death five years ago. He hooked up with his estranged father and other relatives but soon found the streets.

“It’s an absolute dream here, and I notice that everyone is smiling,” Nathaniel said at 2nd and Hill, where he sometimes steps into the tunnel to hear the echo of his violin. “The sun is out all day, and the nights are cool and serene.”

Nathaniel often takes a rock and scrawls names on the sidewalk.

“Oh, those,” he said. “A lot of those are the names of my classmates at Juilliard.”

One day I asked about his hopes and dreams.

“Oh, that’s easy,” he said. “I need to get these other two strings, but I don’t have the money right now.”

He had no use for a house, he said, or a car or anything else.

“All I want is to play music, and the crisis I’m having is right here,” Nathaniel said, pointing to the missing strings and calling out the names of Itzhak Perlman and Jascha Heifetz, as if the renowned violinists might hear his plea and send along the strings.

Nathaniel refused to accept money from me or freebies from Studio City Music. I suggested he go back to Pershing Square, where passersby often dropped money in his violin case, but it didn’t seem logical to him.

When I brought him a new set of strings from Studio City Music, I had to insist that he not pay me for them. He had trouble attaching the strings because his violin is in such bad shape. But by the next day, he had jury-rigged them and was happy to give me a show at his Little Walt Disney Concert Hall.

I had invited two staffers from Lamp Community, a service agency for homeless, mentally ill men and women. Maybe they could get his trust, I figured, and determine whether they could help him at some point.

But as Nathaniel began to play, I doubted there was anyone or anything that could deliver the same peace that music brings him. He was in his sanctuary, eyes half-mast in tribute to the masters.

As cars roared by and trash flew off a dump truck, Nathaniel was oblivious. He played a Mendelssohn concerto, a Beethoven concerto and the Brahms double concerto for violin and cello, his bow gliding effortlessly as it sliced through the madness.

*

The columnist can be reached at [email protected]

The Clippers got the backup center they have yearned for when Brook Lopez agreed to a two-year, $18-million deal, according to people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Lopez, who spent the last seven seasons with Milwaukee, averaged 13 points, 5.0 rebounds and shot 37.3% from three-point range.

Lopez will be the backup to starting center Ivica Zubac, and he gives the Clippers depth and experience at the position.

The 7-1 Lopez still is a good rim-protector, averaging 1.9 blocks per game last season. Lopez has won an NBA championship with the Bucks.