Month: July 2025

Cynthia White

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KESQ) – A federal judge late Friday ordered the Trump administration to immediately stop broad, untargeted immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Riverside County.

The two temporary restraining orders (TRO) granted by the judge come after a lawsuit was filed by immigrant advocacy groups, accusing federal agents of targeting Latino communities.

TODEC Executive Director Luz Gallegos says the restraining orders “apply to Los Angeles and six surrounding counties, which encompass Riverside County. The lawsuit that led to this ruling specifically named Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura Counties.”

The court found that the federal government’s ongoing immigration raids in Southern California and its denial of access to counsel for arrested immigrants likely violated the Constitution.

The TROs prohibit the federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from continuing these unlawful actions.

The first TRO bars immigration agents from stopping individuals without reasonable suspicion and from relying on four factors – alone or in combination, including:

apparent race or ethnicity

speaking Spanish or English with an accent

presence in a particular location like a bus stop, car wash, or agricultural site

the work a person does

The second TRO orders DHS to provide access to counsel on weekdays, weekends, and holidays for people who are detained in B-18, the federal building in downtown Los Angeles.

In a statement responding to the court’s action, the White House said, “No federal judge has the authority to dictate immigration policy – that authority rests with Congress and the President. Enforcement operation require careful planning and execution; skills far beyond the purview (or) jurisdiction of any judge. We expect this gross overstep of judicial authority to be corrected on appeal.”

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Cynthia White

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – College of the Desert officials reported to Palm Springs City Council on Wednesday that progress is being made on the Palm Springs Campus project.

The official groundbreaking was last November, and currently progress is being made on underground utilities and infrastructure work that is expected to be completed by mid-September.

After that, work will begin on the first area of campus to go vertical – the campus support building. COD is planning a “going vertical” ceremony later this year to celebrate the construction milestone.

Of the anticipated start of construction on the first building, COD Superintendent/President Val Martinez Garcia told councilmembers, “After more than two decades of visioning, planning, and perseverance, this moment will mark the shift from ground work to skyline, when steel begins to rise and the communities can finally see what has long been believed can transform this community.”

Martinez added that the campus will expand COD’s offerings in programs such as Hospitality and Tourism, Healthcare Certification, Digital Media and Artificial Intelligence, plus more, describing them as “Educational opportunities that directly respond to regional employer needs.”

The new Palm Springs Campus represents a massive $405 million capital investment, the largest higher education infrastructure project in the history of the west valley.

When fully open and operational, the campus will serve over 3,000 students, faculty and staff.

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Athena Jreij

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – Trash, many telling us it’s a problem for residents in Thousand Palms. 

From people’s trash to construction waste, it’s a problem that’s piling up.    

Code enforcement has been working for years to clean up illegal dumping and homeless encampments at a 93-acre lot at the corner of Monterey and Varner. But business owners say it’s all showing up again – this is just one of many lots in Thousand Palms facing this issue.

Since 2010, code enforcement has opened 30 cases on the property at Monterey and Varner. The worst of them in 2022, when it took them two years to clear 18 homeless encampments. It’s come a long way since then but locals fear what new trash could mean for the future.

News Channel 3’s Athena Jreij goes in-depth on the issue in her special report, Trash Talk.

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