Wildfire struck neighborhoods affected by surge in burglaries
ALTADENA, Calif. (NewsNation) — As wildfire recovery efforts continue in Los Angeles, many homeowners are now facing another problem: A surge in burglaries.
In Altadena, streets are busy during the day with construction crews and growing signs of life returning to normal. But by night, the fire zone becomes a prime target for thieves.
For many residents, it's a devastating double blow; they're already dealing with the emotional and financial toll of the wildfires, paying both mortgages and temporary rent, while trying to replace everything they lost in January.
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Since the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reports 142 burglaries in that burn zone alone, an increase of 'several hundred percent' from last year.
Following both the Palisades and Eaton fires, looting and theft were rampant through the area, affecting homes that were still standing, as well as the charred remains of most others. Some properties have even been burglarized multiple times.
Nearly five months later, the National Guard remains stationed in the Pacific Palisades, but not in Altadena.
'Why is Altadena not being protected like other groups have been? At this moment, you can't even get into Palisades unless you're escorted in. Why is that not our community?' said NAACP Pasadena president Brandon Lamar.
'I feel violated. My personal information was stolen; they immediately started draining my account, and that's when I like lost it because that's all we have left,' said Natalie Lafourche, an Altadena resident.
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The National Guard remains in the Palisades, partly due to the instance of Mayor Karen Bass. Additionally, the area is bordered by the ocean, limiting access points and making it easier to secure.
In contrast, Altadena is a sprawling inland neighborhood with dozens of roads leading in and out. Guardsmen left the area at the end of January amid complaints from frustrated residents unable to access their property.
The LA County Sheriff's Department has increased patrols and does multiple undercover targeted operations weekly, which have led to dozens of arrests.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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CBS News
28 minutes ago
- CBS News
She married a U.S. citizen for love. After she alleged abuse, he threatened deportation.
The Facebook message that popped into her account started as a flirtation: "Hey, how are you?" She had newly arrived from Bangladesh to study for her master's in information technology on a student visa in 2022 and wasn't interested in a relationship. She liked the message. Then he texted again a few days later, "Hey, I have tickets to a Broadway show." She had never been to a Broadway show before, so she went — and their whirlwind first date quickly turned to love for her and then marriage. On Feb. 14, 2024, the couple joined the line to get married at the New York City courthouse. "I brought a white dress online, not very fancy and white shoes, tiara and flowers," she said. "I was smiling, just looking at him. I felt really good." Her new husband filed for a green card for his wife. A temporary one was granted, and she moved to his family's house in Brooklyn. The future seemed bright. A rise in the threat of deportations Now, just a little more than a year later, the 31-year-old woman, who asked CBS News not to use her name due to safety fears, has separated from her husband after alleging abuse — and is now worried about being deported. As immigration enforcement raids increase in the U.S. – including operations in Los Angeles, which led to protests that prompted President Trump to mobilize National Guard troops — communities are shaken watching the deportations of families, friends and co-workers. One community that's especially vulnerable, experts say, are victims of domestic violence. Crystal Justice, chief external affairs officer at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, told CBS News in a statement that they have seen abusive partners "threatening to deport a partner or their family or withholding legal documents to limit a person's ability to travel." Many immigrants are in the U.S. on a visa supported by a U.S. citizen, or are undocumented, with few protections. Often, as the relationship spirals into abuse allegations, spurned or angered partners can threaten to deport their loved ones with uncertain immigration statuses. Esther Limb, immigration practice director at Her Justice in New York City, a not-for-profit that advises and trains attorneys to provide free legal help to women, said there has been a rise in the threats of deportations by abusers. "While using immigration status against their victims is a common tactic used by many abusers, by echoing the anti-immigrant rhetoric and pointing to immigration enforcements happening in their communities, the threat of deportation by abusive spouses is louder than ever and allows abusers to wield greater power and control over their victims," Limb said. A massive backlog and long waits Limb represents numerous clients — including the one interviewed for this CBS News piece — in filing petitions to stay in the U.S. after alleging domestic violence. Waiting for an answer to these petitions can take years due to backlogs and vetting for the applications. Immigrants who allege abuse can file to stay in the U.S. under the Violence Against Women Act, but those petitions can come with a wait of sometimes more than 36 months for an answer. These applicants are close relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, and they can file for status on their own, without the abuser's knowledge, consent or participation. There were 35,917 VAWA petitions in 2024, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Petition filings have increased by more than 350% in the last decade. In 2014, there were 7,130 filings. Immigrants — including undocumented immigrants — can also file for a nonimmigrant status visa, known as a U-visa, if they were victims of various crimes, including domestic violence. The wait time for final approval is more than eight years, due to a massive backlog of petitions, Limb said. There were 41,558 petitions filed in 2024, doubling over the past decade, according to USCIS data. There are more than 238,000 cases currently pending. People are "very, very scared" In the meantime, immigrants watch, wait and worry, hoping their petition will be approved, like the woman interviewed by CBS News. She said she cries suddenly at work sometimes, waking up at night and constantly looks over her shoulder. She left her husband, she says, after various incidents of verbal and physical abuse. She claims the police came to their house, and she went to the emergency room, where she says the hospital told her she had to make a police report. She was given a list of what constitutes domestic abuse. "I didn't want to go back," she said. "...I didn't know what to do." She said her sister, who immigrated to the U.S. years ago came to visit her from Connecticut and told her, "You don't have to go back." She then cut off all contact with her husband and his family. Then the messages and threats started. CBS News reviewed text messages and documents at the Her Justice office in New York City, allegedly from the client's former partner threatening to call ICE and deport her. She filed for a VAWA petition, her lawyer said. CBS News viewed videos of the couple's wedding day and interviewed the client, but did not reach out to the former partner for safety concerns for the client. One message read, "1. You are my wife. 2. I am your petitioner. Lawfully you cannot just leave, as an American you are my responsibility. I'm sorry but I warned you." Text message showing alleged deportation threats CBS News/ Handout Others were sent to her sister. One text message said, "I will be reaching out to immigration soon." Another said, "ICE can show up any day and deport." Limb said abusers now have more power and control right now as they know they can use their partners' immigration status in the current climate. "That is more scary than anything else for a lot of our clients to be deported or to be removed and/or separated from their children," Limb said. "People are very, very scared." For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224. People can text START to 88788 or chat on
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Wasn't the president supposed to be deporting criminals?
This will strike the literal-minded as illogical, but I think Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores, a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, had a righteous point when he declared at a news conference with Southern California mayors that immigrants being rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in communities like his 'are Americans, whether they have a document or they don't.' 'The president keeps talking about a foreign invasion,' Flores told me Thursday. 'He keeps trying to paint us as the other. I say, 'No, you are dealing with Americans.'' California's estimated 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who have lived among us for years, for decades, who work and pay taxes here, who have sent their American-born children to schools here, have all the responsibilities of citizens minus many of the rights. Yes, technically, they have broken the law. (For that matter, so has President Trump, a felon, and he continues to violate the Constitution day after day, as his mounting court losses attest.) But our region's undocumented Mexican and Central American immigrants are inextricably embedded in our lives. They care for our children, build our homes, dig our ditches, trim our trees, clean our homes, hotels and businesses, wash our dishes, pick our crops, sew our clothes. Lots own small businesses, are paying mortgages, attend universities, rise in their professions. In 2013, I wrote about Sergio Garcia, the first undocumented immigrant admitted to the California Bar. Since then, he has become a U.S. citizen and owns a personal injury law firm. These Californians are far less likely to break the law than native-born Americans, and they do not deserve the reign of terror being inflicted on them by the Trump administration, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has pointlessly but theatrically called in the Marines. 'So we started off by hearing the administration wanted to go after violent felons gang members, drug dealers,' said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who organized the mayors' news conference last week, 'but when you raid Home Depot and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you're not trying to keep anyone safe. You're trying to cause fear and panic.' And please, let's not forget that when Congress came together and hammered out a bipartisan immigration reform bill under President Biden, Trump demanded Republicans kill it because he did not want a rational policy, he wanted to be able to keep hammering Democrats on the issue. But it seems there is more going on here than rounding up undocumented immigrants and terrorizing their families. We seem to have entered the 'punish California' phase of Trump 2.0. 'Trump has a hyperfocus on California, on how to hurt the economy and cause chaos, and he is really doubling down on that campaign,' Flores told me. He has a point. 'We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor placed on this country,' Noem told reporters Thursday at a news conference in the Westwood federal building, during which California Sen. Alex Padilla was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed face down for daring to ask her a question. 'We are not going away.' So now we're talking about regime change? (As former Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe put it on Bluesky, the use of military force aimed at displacing democratically elected leaders 'is the very definition of a coup.') Noem's noxious mix of willful ignorance and inflammatory rhetoric is almost too ludicrous to mock. It goes hand in hand with Trump's silly declaration that our city has been set aflame by rioters, that without the military patrolling our streets, Los Angeles 'would be a crime scene like we haven't seen in years,' and that 'paid insurrectionists' have fueled the anti-ICE protests. What we are seeing play out in the news and in our neighborhoods is the willful infliction of fear, trauma and intimidation designed to spark a violent response, and the warping of reality to soften the ground for further Trump administration incursions into blue states, America's bulwark against his autocratic aspirations. For weeks, Trump has been scheming to deprive California — probably illegally — of federal funding for public schools and universities, citing resistance to his executive orders on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, on immigration, on environmental regulations, etc. And yet, because he is perhaps the world's most ignorant head of state, he seems to have suddenly realized that crippling the California economy might be bad politics for him. On Thursday, he suggested in his own jumbled way that perhaps deporting thousands of the state's farm and hospitality workers might cause pain to his friends, their employers. (Central Valley growers and agribusiness PACs, for example, overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2024.) 'Our farmers are being hurt badly by, you know, they have very good workers. They've worked for them for 20 years,' Trump said. 'They're not citizens, but they've turned out to be, you know, great. And we're going to have to do something about that.' Like a lot of Californians, I feel helpless in the face of this assault on immigrants. I thought about a Guatemalan, a father of three young American-born children, who has a thriving business hauling junk. I met him a couple of years ago at my local Home Depot, and have hired him a few times to haul away household detritus. Once, after I couldn't get the city to help, he hauled off a small dune's worth of sand at the end of my street that had become the local dogs' pee pad. I called him this week — I have more stuff that I need to get rid of, and I was pretty sure he could use the work. Early Friday morning, he arrived on time with two workers. He said hadn't been able to work in two weeks but was hopeful he'd be able to return to Home Depot soon. 'How are your kids doing?' I asked. 'They worry,' he said. 'They ask, 'What will we do if you're deported?'' He tells them not to fret, that things will soon be back to normal. After he drove off, he texted: 'Thank you so much for helping me today. God bless you.' No, God bless him. For working hard. For being a good dad. And for still believing, against the odds, in the American dream. @ @rabcarian
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Anti-Trump demonstrators crowd streets, parks and plazas across the US. Organizers say millions came
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Masses of demonstrators packed into streets, parks and plazas across the U.S. on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump, marching through downtowns and small towns, blaring anti-authoritarian chants mixed with support for protecting democracy and immigrant rights. Organizers of the 'No Kings' demonstrations said millions had marched in hundreds of events. Governors across the U.S. had urged calm and vowed no tolerance for violence, while some mobilized the National Guard ahead of marchers gathering. Confrontations were isolated. But police in Los Angeles, where protests over federal immigration enforcement raids erupted a week earlier and sparked demonstrations across the country, used tear gas and crowd-control munitions to clear out protesters after the formal event ended. Huge, boisterous crowds marched, danced, drummed, and chanted shoulder-to-shoulder in New York, Denver, Chicago, Austin and Los Angeles, some behind 'no kings' banners. Atlanta's 5,000-capacity event quickly reached its limit, with thousands more gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol. Trump was in Washington for a military parade marking the Army's 250th anniversary that coincides with the president's birthday. About 200 protesters assembled in northwest Washington's Logan Circle and chanted 'Trump must go now' before erupting in cheers. A larger-than-life puppet of Trump — a caricature of the president wearing a crown and sitting on a golden toilet — was wheeled through the crowd. In some places, organizers handed out little American flags while others flew their flags upside down, a sign of distress. Mexican flags, which have become a fixture of the Los Angeles protests against immigration raids, also made an appearance at some demonstrations Saturday. In Culpepper, Virginia, police said one person was struck by an SUV when a 21-year-old driver intentionally accelerated his SUV into the crowd as protesters were leaving a rally. The driver was charged with reckless driving. The demonstrations come on the heels of the protests over the federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire. 'Today, across red states and blue, rural towns and major cities, Americans stood in peaceful unity and made it clear: we don't do kings," the No Kings Coalition said in a statement Saturday afternoon after many events had ended. Philadelphia Thousands gathered downtown, where organizers handed out small American flags and people carried protest signs saying 'fight oligarchy' and 'deport the mini-Mussolinis." Karen Van Trieste, a 61-year-old nurse who drove up from Maryland, said she grew up in Philadelphia and wanted to be with a large group of people showing her support. 'I just feel like we need to defend our democracy,' she said. She is concerned about the Trump administration's layoffs of staff at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fate of immigrant communities and Trump trying to rule by executive order, she said. A woman wearing a foam Statue of Liberty crown brought a speaker system and led an anti-Trump sing-along, changing the words 'young man' in the song 'Y.M.C.A.' to 'con man.' 'I am what the successful American dream looks like,' said C.C. Téllez, an immigrant from Bolivia who attended the protest. 'I've enjoyed great success here in the United States, and I've also contributed heavily to my community. And if there was space for me, I think there's a way for everybody else to belong here as well.' Los Angeles Thousands gathered in front of City Hall, waving signs and listening to a Native American drum circle before marching through the streets. As protesters passed National Guard troops or U.S. Marines stationed at various buildings, most interactions were friendly, with demonstrators giving fist bumps or posing for selfies. But others chanted 'shame' or 'go home' at the troops. Amid signs reading 'They fear us don't back down California' and 'We carry dreams not danger, ' one demonstrator carried a 2-foot-tall (60-centimeter) Trump pinata on a stick, with a crown on his head and sombrero hanging off his back. Another hoisted a huge helium-filled orange baby balloon with blond hair styled like Trump's. A few blocks from City Hall, protesters gathered in front of the downtown federal detention center being guarded by a line of Marines and other law enforcement. It was the first time that the Marines, in combat gear and holding rifles, have appeared at a demonstration since they were deployed to city on Friday with the stated mission of defending federal property. Peter Varadi, 54, said he voted for Trump last November for 'economic reasons.' Now, for the first time in his life, he is protesting, waving a Mexican and U.S. combined flag. 'I voted for Donald Trump, and now I regret that, because he's taken this fascism to a new level,' Varadi said. 'It's Latinos now. Who's next? It's gays. Blacks after that. They're coming for everybody.' Even after the formal event ended, the downtown streets were packed with a jubilant crowd as people danced to salsa music and snacked on hot dogs and ice cream bought from vendors, many of whom are Latino immigrants. But the previously calm demonstration turned confrontational as police on horseback moved into the crowd and struck some people with wood rods and batons as they cleared the street in front of the federal building. New York City Marchers in the crowd that stretched for blocks along Fifth Avenue had diverse reasons for coming, including anger over Trump's immigration policies, support for the Palestinian people and outrage over what they said was an erosion of free speech rights. But there were patriotic symbols, too. Leah Griswold, 32, and Amber Laree, 59, who marched in suffragette white dresses, brought 250 American flags to hand out to people in the crowd. 'Our mothers who came out, fought for our rights, and now we're fighting for future generations as well,' Griswold said. Some protesters held signs denouncing Trump while others banged drums. 'We're here because we're worried about the existential crisis of this country and the planet and our species,' said Sean Kryston, 28. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and law enforcement encouraged people not to attend rallies 'out of an abundance of caution' following the shootings of the Democratic state lawmakers. Dozen of events were canceled, but tens of thousands still turned out for demonstrations in Duluth, Rochester and St. Paul, which included a march to the state Capitol. Walz canceled his scheduled appearance at the St. Paul event. Authorities said the suspect had 'No Kings' flyers in his car and writings mentioning the names of the victims as well as other lawmakers and officials, though they could not say if he had any other specific targets. Seda Heng, 29, of Rochester, said she was heartbroken by the shootings, but still wanted to join the rally there. 'These people are trying to do what they can for their communities, for the state, for the nation,' Heng told the Minnesota Star-Tribune. North Carolina Crowds cheered anti-Trump speakers in Charlotte's First Ward Park before marching, chanting 'No kings. No crowns. We will not bow down." Marchers stretched for blocks, led by a group of people holding a giant Mexican flag and bystanders cheering and clapping along the way. Jocelyn Abarca, a 21-year-old college student, said the protest was a chance to 'speak for what's right' after mass deportations and Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. 'If we don't stop it now, it's just going to keep getting worse,' she said. Naomi Mena said she traveled an hour to demonstrate in Charlotte to represent her 'friends and family who sadly can't have a voice out in public now' to stay safe. Texas A rally at the Texas Capitol in Austin went off as planned despite state police briefly shutting down the building and the surrounding grounds after authorities said they received a 'credible threat' to Democratic state lawmakers who were to attend. Dozens of state troopers swarmed through the grounds about four hours before the event, but the area was later opened and the rally started on time. The building remained closed. The Department of Public Safety later said one person was taken into custody 'in connection with the threats made against state lawmakers" after a traffic stop in La Grange, Texas, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east of Austin. State police did not detail the threat or immediately identify the person, but said there was no additional active threat. Mississippi A demonstration of hundreds of people opened to 'War Pigs' by Black Sabbath playing over a sound system on the state Capitol lawn in Jackson. 'A lot of stuff that's going on now is targeting people of color, and to see so many folks out here that aren't black or brown fighting for the same causes that I'm here for, it makes me very emotional,' said Tony Cropper, who traveled from Tennessee to attend the protest. Some people wore tinfoil crowns atop their heads. Others held signs inviting motorists to 'Honk if you never text war plans.' Melissa Johnson said she drove an hour-and-a-half to Jackson to protest because 'we are losing the thread of democracy in our country." ___ Associated Press journalists across the country contributed to this report. Marc Levy, Claudia Lauer And Jim Vertuno, The Associated Press
