Mexican border states prepare migrant shelters as Trump begins deportation campaign

• January 23, 2025

By MARTÍN SILVA REY and FÉLIX MÁRQUEZ

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico (AP) — Mexico raised sprawling tents on the U.S. border Wednesday as it braced for President Donald Trump to fulfill his pledge to reverse mass migration.

In an empty lot tight against the border with El Paso, Texas, cranes lifted metal frames for tent shelters in Ciudad Juárez. Nogales, Mexico — across from Nogales, Arizona — announced that it would build shelters on soccer fields and in a gymnasium. The border cities of Matamoros and Piedras Negras have launched similar efforts.

At a border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, on Tuesday night, one man shouted to journalists that he was being deported in a group that was arrested that morning in farm fields near Denver. Another man said he was in a group that had been brought from Oregon. Everyone carried their belongings in a small orange bag.

Neither man’s account could be independently confirmed.

The number of people deported Tuesday was lower than the daily average of about 500 last year, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum noted at her daily press briefing. Quickly ramping up deportations — as Trump pledges — faces logistical and financial challenges.

Beyond the tents, the Mexican government is building nine shelters in border cities to receive deportees. It has said that it would also use existing facilities in Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Matamoros, to take in migrants whose appointments to request asylum in the U.S. were canceled on Inauguration Day.

Sheinbaum has said that Mexico will give humanitarian aid to migrants from other countries whose asylum appointments were cancelled, as well as those sent to wait in her nation under the revived policy known as Remain in Mexico. Mexico wants to eventually and voluntarily return them to their nations, she has said.

Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente and new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held their first telephone conversation in their new positions.

“It was a very good conversation, very cordial, they talked about migration and security issues,” Sheinbaum said.

After pledging to dramatically shift border and immigration policies, on Monday Trump scrapped the program known as CBP One that allowed asylum seekers to schedule appointments on their phones before arriving at the border, providing a degree of order. On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced it was sending up to 1,500 active-duty troops to the border.

At the Good Samaritan shelter in Ciudad Juarez, the Rev. Juan Fierro was preparing for yet another change.

In recent years he has seen the shelter’s population change from young men crossing a wall-less border for work to families seeking asylum. During Trump’s first term, the policy of making asylum seekers wait out the U.S. process in Mexico meant that people stayed at the shelter much longer, up to three years, Fierro said.

Now he’s getting ready for Trump’s promised mass deportations. His shelter fits 180 people and can feed around 50, he said. With much lower migration numbers over the past year, he only had a fraction of that number this week and is worried about an expected rise.

“This shelter doesn’t have the budget, we’re practically day to day,” Fierro said.

The Mexican government will bus some deportees to their homes in Mexico’s interior. Fierro said he’ll give deportees a couple of months to think about whether to return home, look for work in another Mexican state or try to re-enter the U.S.

“The people who want to make it to the United States are going to look for the way to do it,” he said.

Márquez reported from Tijuana, Mexico. AP reporters Megan Janetsky and María Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Angels reportedly add former batting champ Tim Anderson on minor-league deal

• January 23, 2025

The Angels reportedly added to their infield depth by signing veteran Tim Anderson to a minor league deal with a spring training invite.

The Angels have not confirmed the move, which was reported by USA Today on Wednesday.

Anderson, 31, is trying to revive a career that included a batting title and two All-Star appearances with the Chicago White Sox. Anderson hit .214 with a .463 OPS last season with the Miami Marlins, who released him in July.

If Anderson could show something in spring training, he could be an option for the Angels at shortstop – while Zach Neto is rehabbing from surgery – or second base.

The Angels needed to add to their infield depth chart because Neto, third baseman Anthony Rendon and utility infielder Luis Rengifo are all coming off injuries. So far this winter they’ve added utility infielders Kevin Newman and Scott Kingery.

In his prime, Anderson was a solid offensive shortstop for the White Sox. He hit at least .300 for four straight seasons, from 2019 to 2022. He won the batting title in 2019, when he hit .335.

Anderson was an All-Star as recently as 2022.

In the last two seasons, though, he hit a combined .235 with an OPS of .544. Anderson was out of baseball for the final three months, after he was released.

​ Orange County Register 

10 best things to eat and drink at Parkside Market in Downtown Disney

• January 23, 2025

A new $8 million food hall with a rooftop cocktail lounge overlooking Downtown Disney is the latest entry in a seemingly never-ending parade of new restaurants and bars opening at the outdoor shopping mall next door to Disneyland.

The Parkside Market held a grand opening celebration on Wednesday, Jan. 22 in Downtown Disney after several weeks of soft opening operations.

ALSO SEE: Full menus for all 4 Parkside Market eateries at Downtown Disney

The two-story food hall on the west end of Downtown Disney features GG’s Chicken Shop (fried chicken sandwiches), Seoul Sister (Korean rice bowls) and Sip & Sonder (Caribbean-inspired coffee) on the first floor with the Vista Lounge cocktail bar on the second floor.

The Parkside Market hosted the media on Wednesday and served tasting-sized versions of menu items during the press preview.

Here are the 10 best things to eat and drink at the four new Parkside Market eateries:

1) Original Fried Chicken Sandwich

GG’s Chicken Shop

Bread and Butter Pickles, Cabbage, Spicy Mayo, Hot Honey, Brioche Bun — $18

2) Dumplings

Seoul Sister

Fried Beef and Vegetable Dumplings — $8

3) Crispy Chicken Strips

GG’s Chicken Shop

Served with three chicken strips — $14

4) Cake Pops

Sip & Sonder

Funfetti, Red Velvet or Cookies & Cream — $3.50

5) Morning Mist

Vista Lounge

Garrison Brothers Small Batch Bourbon, Earl Grey, Angostura, Orange Bitters — $20

6) Beef & Egg Bowl

Seoul Sister

Bulgogi Beef, Carrots, Kale, Egg, Sesame Oil, Spicy Gochu Seoul Sauce served with a choice of rice, Japchae noodles or salad — $19

7) Chocolate Dirt Pudding

GG’s Chicken Shop

With Chocolate Pudding, Oreo Crumble, Mickey Mouse Sprinkles and Gummy Worms — $7

8) Flamboyance Frose

Vista Lounge

With zero proof rose or Chapoutier Belleruche rose — $12 to $16

9) Broccoli Slaw

GG’s Chicken Shop

With Almonds, Raisins, Dill and Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing — $7

10) The Monarch

Sip & Sonder

Butterfly Pea Flower Coconut Vanilla Slushie — $7 to $7.50

​ Orange County Register 

California Legislature takes up $2.5B wildfire aid package

• January 23, 2025

Both the state Assembly and Senate are expected to vote Thursday, Jan. 23, on an approximately $2.5 billion aid package as initial funding to jumpstart recovery efforts related to the Southern California wildfires.

Two wildfire-related bills, included as part of the legislature’s special session, were introduced on Monday, a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed immediate funding to help Los Angeles County fire victims. The funding would help pay for services ranging from shelters for those who have lost their homes and debris removal to expediting the rebuilding of residential homes and damaged schools.

This initial $2.5 billion, if approved, would expedite recovery efforts. However, legislators have made it clear that more funding and other actions will be needed in the future.

“Given the scale of the devastation, it will be a massive undertaking to rebuild these communities. So today, we are acting with urgency to deliver emergency aid, but this is only the first of many actions that will be required,” Assembly Budget Chair Jesse Gabriel, D-Encino, said during a hearing Wednesday.

The first bill, ABX1-4/SBX1-4, would provide up to $1.5 billion to fund fire response and recovery. The money could help pay for expenses such as evacuating and sheltering displaced individuals; removing household hazardous wastes; remediating post-fire hazards such as flooding and debris flow; conducting air quality, water or other environmental tests; and expediting recovery.

The second bill, ABX1-5/SBX1-3, would appropriate money for the following:

• $4 million for the county of Los Angeles, as well as the cities of L.A., Malibu, Pasadena and other local governments, if needed, to expedite the rebuilding of residential homes by providing additional resources to speed up the planning review and building process.

• $1 million to assist the Los Angeles and Pasadena school districts, as well as charter schools within those districts, to rebuild and recover damaged facilities.

• Up to $1 billion for other disaster-related responses.

Legislators intend to seek reimbursement from the federal government for at least some of the funding.

Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who introduced the two special session wildfire bills along with Gabriel, said during a Wednesday hearing in the upper chamber that in the coming weeks, the legislature will work with the governor’s office “as additional needs emerge and will continue to invest in making our state more resilient in the face of our changing climate.”

In proposing additional aid for fire victims last week, Newsom expanded the ongoing special legislative session, which had already been called, to include discussions about wildfire-related funding. The special session, running concurrently with the regular session, was initially meant to discuss “Trump-proofing” California against potential actions by new President Donald Trump.

Democratic legislative leaders also recently unveiled a $50 million state funding proposal to address the Trump portion of the special session: $25 million to legal aid services that support immigrants facing deportation and other risks, plus another $25 million to the California Department of Justice to pay for potential state lawsuits against the Trump administration.

There were initial concerns from Republicans about linking disaster aid to other bills that would challenge the new president’s administration, but Newsom clarified that he did not intend for the two issues to be tied together.

And since the wildfire aid bills aren’t locked with the “Trump-proofing” measures, Chris Micheli, a veteran lobbyist in Sacramento who also teaches at McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific, doesn’t expect strong resistance from legislators on either side of the aisle to the wildfire-related funding.

“Wildfire recovery is a bipartisan issue,” said Micheli. “I don’t anticipate that there is opposition to spending money to help people rebuild their lives.”

On Wednesday, Republican Assemblymember Heath Flora of Lodi, who has served as a volunteer firefighter, said wildfires are an issue many in the legislature have talked about for years and that he was encouraged by the conversations now taking place.

“I’m encouraged by the bipartisanship. … Right now, more than ever, we have an elected body that understands what we’re talking about and what we need to deal with as a state,” Flora said.

But there are still concerns that disaster aid for California has become a political issue at the federal level, where Trump and some Republican members of Congress have suggested that such aid should come with conditions.

Newsom, who often spars with Trump, has urged the president not to politicize disaster relief. He and other elected officials representing the L.A. area have invited Trump to Southern California to visit areas that have burned.

The president, who has criticized the state’s policies on forest management and water supplies, is expected to travel to Southern California on Friday.

The wildfires that have swept through the Palisades, Altadena and other parts of L.A. County have so far destroyed or damaged over 17,000 structures, according to estimates from Cal Fire and the Angeles National Forest. At least 28 people have died from the fires.

​ Orange County Register 

La Habra community gathers to toast town’s 100th anniversary

• January 23, 2025

An enlarged photo of a 100-year-old document is displayed prominently on a wall in the atrium of La Habra City Hall.

A headline, in bold capital letters reads: VOTE FOR INCORPORATION.

Following are details of the array of benefits incorporation would bring to the town: police and fire protection, streetlights, sanitation and increased property value.

And the residents of La Habra agreed those 100 years ago, overwhelmingly voting in favor of incorporation, 311-146.

On Wednesday, Jan. 21, generations of residents, some perhaps descendants of those who cast votes that day, joined with city officials, long-time business owners and others in the atrium to celebrate La Habra’s centennial.

Several local notables shared memories and recounted the city’s roots as a citrus hub, along with subsequent milestones over the years.

Then, the hundreds in attendance raised their champagne glasses to toast the city.

At the same time, a two-story tall mural depicting an avocado tree – a symbol of the city and its agricultural history – was unveiled at the south end of the atrium.

Longtime councilmembers Jim Gomez and Rose Espinoza, both La Habra natives, recounted the roots of their respective families and chronicled the town’s growth.

“Everyone here represents La Habra’s past, present and future,” said Gomez, a councilmember since 2002 and grandson of early residents. “We’re all woven together like a beautiful blanket is woven together.”

Gomez recounted his youth, attending La Habra schools from kindergarten through high school, and highlighted the growth of the town’s business community.

He mentioned the original Parkview Market, owned by Howard and Nancy Lu, the first Chinese American couple to open a business in La Habra, adding, “And eventually this Chinese couple spoke Spanish, and they were dear to our heart.”

And he remembered George Williams, who, as proprietor of a small body shop, was the town’s first Black business owner and part of the first Black family to make the city home.

“It was George who restored my grandfather’s 1928 Ford Model A in 1981,” Gomez recalled. “There’s no other place that I’d rather be than La Habra with all of you. All roads of La Habra lead to my heart.”

Also among the celebrants was Cynthia Cramer Freeman, daughter of noted Orange County historian Esther Cramer, a lifelong resident of La Habra and author of multiple books, including “La Habra: The Pass through the Hills,” published in 1969.

Esther Cramer died in 2012 at age 85.

Cramer Feeman recounted her family’s Swiss heritage and roots in La Habra going back 128 years.

“There were no trees then,” Cramer Freeman said. “There were just rolling hills and land and it looked like opportunity.”

Cramer Freeman’s grandfather purchased small ranches, some along a section of La Mirada Boulevard, which later became Beach Boulevard.

“We watched as the groves were planted and we had citrus everywhere,” she said. “We were the heart of Sunkist oranges, Sunkist lemons, and then Hass avocados, as you probably well know.”

She pointed out that the largest Hass avocado grove in the world once grew along La Mirada Boulevard.

Espinoza was raised in the so-called Red Camp built by the La Habra Citrus Association for migrant workers and attended a segregated school as a child.

As the youngest of eight children whose parents were fruit pickers, Espinoza said she would also sometimes help her mother clean houses.

In 1991, out of concern for the growing gang activity in her neighborhood, Espinoza founded Rosie’s Garage, an after-school tutoring program she started in her garage.

As Rosie’s Garage expanded over the years, the program rooted in La Habra earned national recognition and was featured in multiple publications and documentaries.

“Knowing how much our city has grown and accomplished over the last 100 years is truly remarkable,” Gomez said. “Something we should be proud to celebrate together.”

​ Orange County Register 

Prosecutor reaches tentative settlement in retaliation suit involving former DA Gascón

• January 23, 2025

A veteran prosecutor has tentatively settled his lawsuit against Los Angeles County alleging he was demoted for bucking former District Attorney George Gascón’s controversial sentencing directives.

Deputy District Attorney Michael K. Matoba alleged in the suit he was transferred in October 2021 from a high-profile post in the Sex Crimes Unit to a less prestigious job in the Elder Abuse Unit because he informed the court that Gascón’s blanket policy to exclude special circumstance allegations was unlawful.

“Plaintiff was transferred to elder abuse, a position that requires travel all over the county, is not coveted and is highly unlikely to result in an advancement or promotion,” stated the 2022 suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. “Plaintiff alleges that most, if not all, of his eligible peers that he served with in line operations in the Sex Crimes Unit have been promoted.”

Beth D. Corriea, an attorney representing Matoba, filed a settlement notice with the court Tuesday indicating that a request to dismiss the suit will be submitted no later than Sept 1. Terms of the proposed settlement were not disclosed.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment, saying it does not discuss litigation or personnel matters. The county Board of Supervisors, which would be responsible for approving the settlement, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gascón lost his bid for reelection to a second term in November to former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman.

Matoba is among at least 24 prosecutors who have filed lawsuits against Gascón alleging they too faced retaliation for challenging his policies.

Matoba alleges the retaliation stems from his involvement in prosecuting sexually violent predator Kenneth Kasten Rasmuson for the murders of two 6-year-old boys, Jeffrey Vargo of Anaheim Hills and Miguel Antero of Agoura Hills.

Jeffrey was abducted on July 2, 1981, while bike riding near his Anaheim Hills home. His partially clothed remains were found the next day about 25 miles away at a construction site in Pomona’s Phillips Ranch neighborhood. Coroner’s officials said he had been strangled. It wasn’t until 2015 that DNA would lead to Rasmuson’s arrest.

Rasmuson abducted Miguel on April 8, 1986, after he stepped off a school bus. The boy was stabbed multiple times and his body was discovered the same day in a wash in an Agoura Hills canyon.

Although Rasmuson was charged with special circumstances enhancements making him eligible for the death penalty under previous L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, Gascón moved to dismiss those allegations as part of a mandate prohibiting prosecutors from seeking capital punishment or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to the lawsuit, the policy was later changed, but not until Matoba complained about its illegality.

Matoba, in accordance with Gascón’s policy, filed a motion seeking permission from the court to drop sentencing enhancements for Rasmuson. He also stated in the motion that dismissal of the special circumstance allegations “was not in the interest of justice” and that it was unlawful.

Both Gascón and his then-chief of staff, Joseph Iniguez, were aware Matoba authored and filed the motion, the lawsuit says.

Meanwhile, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, after reading a Southern California News Group report, filed a motion to wrestle away from Gascon the Rasmuson prosecution in Jeffrey’s slaying.

During a hearing to consider transferring the case, Iniguez told the court that he wished Spitzer had contacted him, and then falsely claimed a plea deal for Rasmuson had been in the works for weeks, the lawsuit states.

Matoba challenged that claim.

“Plaintiff disclosed to the court that the parties had only learned about a possible plea deal 15 minutes before the hearing, contradicting Iniguez’s false narrative to the court,” the suit states. “Attorneys are mandated by law and their ethical obligations to be truthful with the court.”

Rasmuson ultimately pleaded no contest to two counts of murder with the special circumstance of multiple slayings and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Matoba was seeking damages for lost wages and pension benefits, according to the suit.

At least two prosecutors who have sued Gascón have received hefty settlements.

Richard Doyle, a former head deputy district attorney who has since retired, received an $800,000 settlement in 2021. He alleged Gascón retaliated against him for refusing to drop charges against three anti-police protesters accused of attempting to wreck a train in November 2020 in Compton.

Another repudiation of Gascón’s policies came in March 2023, when a jury awarded Head Deputy District Attorney Shawn Randolph $1.5 million in damages for her suit alleging a retaliatory transfer from a prestigious position to a “dead-end” job after complaining about juvenile sentencing policies.

​ Orange County Register 

President Donald Trump has restored freedom of speech in the United States

• January 23, 2025

On Day One, President Donald Trump restored freedom of speech in the United States. If you weren’t aware that it had been removed, that should give you an idea of the scale of the problem. Censorship and its totalitarian cousin, propaganda, combined to control the information that was generally available to the public under the Biden administration.

Some Americans who were censored and deplatformed on social media went to court over it.

“Government officials may not coerce private entities to suppress speech,” wrote Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito last June, “and that is what happened in this case.”

Alito was writing a dissent in Murthy v. Missouri, the long-running First Amendment case challenging the Biden regime of censorship-by-proxy. The court’s majority let the censorship continue while the victims’ lawsuit proceeded.

Two lower courts had already been convinced that the government was suppressing the constitutionally protected free speech of Americans using high-tech content flagging and government coercion. On July 4, 2023, Judge Terry A. Doughty issued a blistering ruling ordering the Biden administration to stop “urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing” social media companies to engage in “removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”

Far from denying it, the Biden administration appealed Doughty’s injunction, claiming that government censorship was necessary to keep Americans safe.

That censorship has now been halted by the newly elected president of the United States.

Trump’s executive order on January 20, titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” is a ray of light if you care about freedom in America.

“Under the guise of combating ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ and ‘malinformation,’ the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advanced the Government’s preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate,” the executive order states. “Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society.”

Fact check: True.

Trump’s order declares that “it is the policy of the United States” to “ensure that no Federal Government officer, employee or agent engages in or facilitates any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.” The order also prohibits the use of taxpayer resources for the purpose of abridging free speech, and it says the U.S. will “identify and take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the Federal Government related to censorship of protected speech.”

The order directs the attorney general to “investigate the activities of the Federal Government over the last 4 years that are inconsistent with the purposes and policies of this order and prepare a report to be submitted to the President” for “appropriate remedial actions.”

This likely means the individuals suing the government over censorship, “deplatforming” and reputational damage will be able to settle their lawsuits favorably, instead of having to pay attorneys for endless litigation to vindicate their constitutional rights.

The other part of the story, the end of propaganda, appears as a virtual confession written by Joe Biden himself, or whoever wrote those last-minute pardons over Biden’s signature.

Propaganda ran parallel to government suppression of free speech about two topics in particular: COVID-19 and the 2020 election.

Americans were flooded with relentless government messaging that the origin of the COVID virus was something other than a lab leak in Wuhan, China; that the safe and effective vaccines would prevent transmission of the virus; and that lockdowns and six-foot social distancing were essential to protect public health. Those claims were always questionable, but questions were censored.

The Biden administration’s response to questions raised about the integrity of the 2020 election was censorship plus an all-of-government effort to characterize the January 6th protest and riot at the Capitol as a Trump-directed insurrection aimed at overthrowing the U.S. government. This included the made-for-TV January 6th committee hearings.

On January 19, Biden issued sweeping, preemptive pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, all the Members of Congress who served on the “House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol,” the entire committee staff, and every D.C. and Capitol Police Department officer who testified before the committee.

Lies went all the way around the world, but the truth has its boots on now.

Write Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on X @Susan_Shelley

​ Orange County Register 

Anaheim’s disappointing punt on ethics reform

• January 23, 2025

The city of Anaheim passed a number of mostly sensible reforms in the wake of a corruption scandal that saw former Mayor Harry Sidhu plead guilty to federal corruption charges surrounding the attempted sale of the city owned stadium to the Angels baseball team. The fracas exposed the seedy sense of influence peddling within City Hall.

Unfortunately, the city is backing away from a key reform that resulted in better oversight and disclosure. That change required city officials to publicly disclose who they were meeting with (outside of normal internal city meetings) on their official calendars posted on the city’s website. The idea made sense after investigations alleged backdoor deal-making and secret meetings. The calendars were public, but accessing them required a public-information request.

“When we brought this forward the first time, it really stemmed from an obligation to restore the public’s faith in our service and making sure that our intentions were true,” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said, according to published reports. But the mayor and City Council recently unanimously approved gutting that requirement in the name of giving officials more flexibility.

What’s the point in implementing this idea – and then removing the rule a year later? We understand the need for perhaps clarifying some of the required meeting notices, especially those involving impromptu ones. Nevertheless, the walk-back gives the sense that some of these reforms were more about restoring public faith in the process rather than earning that faith by adopting new ways of conducting official business.

The new policy requires the reporting of meetings “that are materially and significantly related to official city business.” It exempts reporting of public events and ceremonies. “City officials are encouraged to report unscheduled calls and/or meetings of a material or significant nature relating to official city business,” it added. Encouraged is a far cry from required. We’re not fans of the caveats and the ifs, ands or buts.

We’re glad, as Aitken put it, the disclosure rules are meant as a floor rather than a ceiling, but it’s a bad look. Anaheim should do better

​ Orange County Register