A guide to surviving ‘la migra’

What to do if Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes around
by Leslie Layton & Ken Magri | Posted July 10, 2025
NorCal Resist Sacramento and Chico maintain a hotline for ICE sightings. Photo courtesy of NorCal Resist.

Lee esta nota en español aqui. This resource guide was produced in a joint collaboration between ChicoSol and the Chico News & Review.

This guide will assist non-citizen immigrants and mixed-status families concerned about the crackdown underway by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The information — we’re publishing in both Spanish and English — includes links to organizations that can provide guidance. Please download and share this guide as a starter reference for free help, and seek legal advice as needed.

1. How to identify ICE vehicles and agents:

ICE vehicles are often not marked with a logo. Agents may be using unmarked cars with tinted windows and without license plates; they often travel in newer model American SUVs such as Chevy Tahoes. read more

Como sobrevivir ‘la migra’

Que deben hacer si llega el Servicio de Control de Inmigración y Aduanas
by Leslie Layton & Ken Magri | Posted July 10, 2025
Foto cortesía de American Community Media.

Este guía de recursos fue producido en una colaboración conjunta entre ChicoSol y el Chico News & Review. Read this article in English here.

Este guía ayudará a migrantes no ciudadanos y familias de estatus migratorio mixto quienes se preocupan por las medidas drásticas ya implementadas por el Servicio de Control de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE por sus siglas en inglés).

La información, en español e inglés, incluye enlaces a las organizaciones que puedan brindar orientación. Favor de descargar y compartir este guía que sirve como referencia inicial gratuita, y buscar asesoramiento legal si lo necesita. read more

Dream Act offers students path to education

California encourages higher education, offering financial aid
by Natalie Hanson | Posted July 5, 2025
Butte College Public Relations Officer Christian Gutierrez.

California’s universities and colleges are the front lines for migrant students who seek support and a pathway to higher education.

Higher education institutions tout California’s Dream Act Application (CADAA) as a lifeline — as pressure grows to protect immigrants in California amid a sweeping and forceful immigration crackdown.

In a recent briefing hosted by American Community Media, panelists shared how students can, under the California Dream Act of 2011, apply for and receive Cal Grants and the California College Promise Grant at community colleges, as well as institutional and state aid at California colleges and universities. read more

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is America’s Gulag

Guest commentary
by Laszlo Bartus, Amerikai Népszava | Posted July 1, 2025
A photo posted on the official X page of the US Department of Homeland Security depicting ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ a new immigrant detention facility located in Florida’s Everglades National Park. photo courtesy of American Community Media.

It is no secret that Donald Trump has a reputation for cruelty. In that vein, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis could not have come up with a more pleasing gift than a prison for undocumented immigrants located in the Everglades National Park.

Let’s be clear, Alligator Alcatraz—as the prison has been dubbed—is set to become the most inhumane prison in the world.

The Everglades National Park is a vast swamp stretching between Florida’s east and west coasts. It is teeming with massive pythons, alligators, swarms of mosquitos, and panthers. Summer temperatures regularly top the triple digits.

The idea is that, like San Francisco’s notorious Alcatraz, escape from this new dungeon in the swamp will be impossible, and that anyone who tries to leave will be immediately devoured by wild animals or otherwise succumb to the elements. read more

California to flex muscle in favor of immigrants

Bills to be introduced to Legislature that would place limitations on ICE
by Lindajoy Fenley | Posted June 29, 2025
Antonio Villaraigosa. photo by Angela George, courtesy of Wikimedia.

The state attorney general, a former Los Angeles mayor, and an immigration lawyer, at a June 27 panel, vowed to continue the challenge to the Trump Administration’s unlawful assault on California immigrants.  

“You can’t physically stop [the Administration]. That’s not possible. But we need to challenge them in every possible way,” Antonio Villaraigosa, a former Los Angeles mayor, told dozens of journalists attending an American Community Media panel. Villaraigosa said that “every way possible” means suing the federal government as well as engaging the public to push back through peaceful protest. read more

They were convicted of killing with their cars

No one told the California DMV
by Lauren Hepler and Robert Lewis, Cal Matters | Posted June 25, 2025
A Scannable LivingTag QR code on Joseph Ramirez’s headstone in Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, on June 17, 2025. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters

A CalMatters investigation found that courts didn’t report hundreds of vehicular manslaughter convictions to the DMV, prompting officials to belatedly take many drivers’ licenses.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

California courts have failed to report hundreds of vehicular manslaughter convictions to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles over the past five years, allowing roadway killers to improperly keep their driver’s licenses, a CalMatters investigation has found.

Marvin Salazar was convicted in May 2023 for killing his 18-year-old friend Joseph Ramirez, who was in the passenger seat when Salazar gunned his car, lost control and slammed into a tree, court records show. Under California law, the state should have taken away Salazar’s driving privileges for at least three years. read more