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San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
The surprising way San Francisco has become more affordable in the last 20 years
Just 1 in 5 San Francisco households can afford to buy a mid-priced home in their city, where the typical price tag is about $1.29 million. But back in 2005, only 1 in 10 households could afford a mid-priced home. That's according to an analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau and real estate company Zillow. The Chronicle calculated how many households could buy a mid-priced home — including co-ops and condominiums — while keeping their housing payments below 30% of their income. The value of a typical San Francisco home grew by a whopping 66%, from $780,000 to $1.29 million, over the past two decades. But incomes have more than doubled over the same period, from about $58,000 to $127,000 in 2023 (roughly $136,000 in 2025 dollars). While the data indicates more San Franciscans can afford to own a home, the rapid increase in incomes since 2005 is due in part to many of the city's lower-income residents leaving, often pushed out by the city's high housing costs. And homeownership is still out of reach for the vast majority of San Francisco households, as measured by income levels. The Chronicle's analysis was based on Zillow's typical home value for each neighborhood in June 2005 and June 2025, assuming a 20% down payment, the San Francisco property tax rate for those years and the average 30-year mortgage rate for those months. The income estimates for 2025 were based on the Census Bureau's 2023 estimates, adjusted for inflation to 2025. The analysis did not include insurance costs or homeowners association fees, which have climbed rapidly in recent years. The most affordable neighborhoods in 2025 are generally located in and around downtown San Francisco, with more than 40% of households able to afford the typical home in the Tenderloin, Lower Nob Hill and Civic Center. Those neighborhoods, where the bulk of the city's new housing over the past two decades has been concentrated, have also become affordable to many more households since 2005. Only one neighborhood is affordable to a smaller share of San Francisco households than it was in 2005 — Hunters Point, where housing costs have grown at a faster rate than any other neighborhood, though the neighborhood has relatively low home values. The fact that more households can afford a home doesn't help the families that have already left San Francisco. Several economic changes to the region — the tech boom, the 2008 financial crisis, the pandemic — resulted in lower-income households moving out and, in some cases, higher-income households moving in. Of course, not everyone who can buy a home wants to. Renting a home in the Bay Area is often much more affordable than purchasing one, and not everyone wants to live in downtown San Francisco, where most of the for-sale homes are condominiums. And then there's the issue of affording a $300,000 down payment, which is much harder for a first-time homebuyer than someone coming with cash from a previous sale. On the other hand, many San Francisco households have decided that owning a home in the city is worth exceeding the 'affordability' threshold. About a third of San Francisco households with a mortgage pay at least 30% of their income toward housing costs, Census Bureau data shows.
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Millennials Are Reviving This Midwest City
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. While the Midwest grapples with the consequences of decades of population decline, one city in the region, Des Moines, is thriving against the odds—thanks, in part, to the numbers of young people choosing to make it their home. Jacob Hardigree, 33, is one of the many Des Moines escapees who have recently decided to return to the city after spending years away from Iowa. Hardigree, who was born and raised in Des Moines, left the city in his 20s, when he landed a job working at Yellowstone National Park in California. In the following years, he lived in California and southwest Montana, where he met his now-wife. Life might have been very happy for Hardigree, but it was not particularly cheap: in Bozeman, Montana, a two-bedroom home was nearing the $1 million price tag after the pandemic, he said—an impossibly high expense for the young couple. Bozeman's sky-high home prices ended up running them out of the city and Montana. About three years ago, Hardigree and his wife decided to move to his hometown—Des Moines. "When we moved here we ended up making the same money as back West and now make more, so buying our home was pretty hassle-free," Hardigree told Newsweek. "Now we have a child—which we also would have never done in Bozeman." Bucking the Trend The latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that Des Moines continues to be the fastest-growing city in the Midwest, with an estimated population of 753,913 in 2024, up 6.3 percent from 709,517 in 2020 in its metropolitan area. This includes the cities of Ankeny and West Des Moines. This number puts the city almost at the same level as some of the fastest-growing cities in the South, the region that is attracting the most newcomers, such as Phoenix, Arizona (6.9 percent) and Nashville, Tennessee (6.8 percent). This phenomenon started a while ago. In the last decade alone, Des Moines grew its population by a stunning 16.98 percent, while much of the region continued struggling with an exodus of residents and several Midwestern states lost congressional seats because of these population declines. While the Midwest grapples with the consequences of decades of population decline, one city in the region, Des Moines, is thriving against the odds. While the Midwest grapples with the consequences of decades of population decline, one city in the region, Des Moines, is thriving against the odds. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/AP But the data show that it has accelerated during the pandemic, likely because of the housing affordability crisis across the country. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, Des Moines' metro grew 1.9 percent faster than a year earlier. "Some of our population growth, as with many states, is the result of post-COVID recovery," Les Sulgrove, statewide housing analyst at Iowa Realtors, told Newsweek. "Our state has a large rural population and with the ability to work from home during COVID-19 and subsequently having the option now of working back in the offices for part of the week and home from the remaining time has been a boost for our metro and suburbs." Des Moines' low unemployment rate, Sulgrove said, is a factor driving this population growth. "There are jobs for pretty much anyone that wants to work in our area and the employment industry is also diversifying," he said. "The metro, once known primarily for insurance and agriculture, has shifted in recent years more towards data centers and technology. We still have very strong ties to our core industries through our universities and colleges and are able to keep many of our college students here after graduation." The city's affordability, especially for first-time homebuyers, also plays in favor of Des Moines. "Where many markets have seen wide swings in home values and employment, our markets have always been consistent and steady. Our median sale price has remained steady with the most recent year-over-year appreciation of values at 4.2 percent," Sulgrove said. The median family income for Des Moines is $109,000, according to Iowa Realtors data, "and that is more than the income needed to buy a home with a minimum down payment," Sulgrove said. "With consistent equity gains, buying a home makes sense." According to the latest Redfin data, the median sale price of a home in Des Moines in May was $216,250, down 1.9 percent from a year earlier. At the national level, a typical U.S. home cost $440,910, up 0.6 percent from a year earlier. But even the Des Moines housing market is not perfect. "Our biggest challenge is virtually like every market. The return of starter home stock levels is extremely low in our city and we need that segment to increase to spur more move up buyers," Sulgrove said. "As soon as mortgage interest rates come down closer to 6 percent, we know that will psychologically open the door to more home seller holdouts," he added. "We saw a big jump in business last year when rates dipped close to that rate." A Multi-Generational Haven Young people have played a significant part in boosting Des Moines' population in recent years. "Millennials have certainly contributed to Greater Des Moines' recent momentum, especially through their investment in urban living, entrepreneurship and early career opportunities," Tiffany Tauscheck, president & CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, told Newsweek. "However, the region's growth has been fueled by a broader, multi-generational trend that reflects Greater Des Moines' overall attractiveness to people at different stages of life," she said. The city has seen significant population growth over the past decade from adults ages 35 to 54 with college degrees, "a segment that has increased by a remarkable 26 percent," Tauscheck said, highlighting the city's attractiveness as a thriving job market. "This group represents individuals in their peak earning and family formation years who have discovered this is a great place to grow in their career and raise a family. This type of talent is highly valuable for any region, and Greater Des Moines has outperformed most other metros in attracting and retaining them," she said. "We also see growth in retirement age adults choosing to remain or relocate in the region, oftentimes to remain near or move closer to their children and grandchildren who live here, which strengthens our ability to retain younger generations." While millennial migration helped fuel renewed energy in areas like Downtown Des Moines, Tauscheck and her colleagues are also observing an influx of Gen Zers, who are now beginning to enter the workforce, "and many Gen X and Boomer professionals choosing to stay here long-term due to lifestyle advantages and career opportunities," she said. The Young People Calling Des Moines Home Josh, 42, is a chef and a Des Moines native. He left the city to attend culinary school and lived in New York, New Orleans, and Saint Paul for 16 years, during which he visited his home city and "enjoyed the improvements and investments Des Moines seemed to consistently be making." Eventually, in 2022, he and his family decided the time was right for them to come back to Des Moines, where they now live in the Beaverdale neighborhood. "We have family and friends here, and the timing worked out to make the transition back to DSM," Josh told Newsweek. After living in some of the most vibrant metropolises in the country, Josh can appreciate how much more affordable the cost of living is in Des Moines, though he said he "would never discount the life experiences obtained from living somewhere different than where you grew up for a while." Josh and his family love "what Des Moines has to offer for us and our family," and he thinks that the investments that have been made in the area will continue to draw people there in the future. "We are happy in Des Moines and thankful to have such great communities around us. It might not be the final stop on the journey, but we're not looking to leave anytime soon," he said. Some young people are making their way to Des Moines from other states having no previous ties to the city. Sara Brown, 40, moved to Des Moines from Kansas 11 years ago for work and never looked back. "I made the decision to move to DSM when my company closed the office I worked at in Kansas and offered relocation to our office in West Des Moines," she told Newsweek. She had only visited Des Moines once before she made the decision to move, but she knew that there were a lot of opportunities in her industry—financial services— in the city should things not work out with her company (which they did). "Beyond that, I loved that DSM was a bigger city than where I grew up in Kansas, but not so large that I'd feel totally lost. DSM is also an active city with a lot to do," she said. Like Josh, Brown lives in the Beaverdale neighborhood in northwest Des Moines. "My husband and I love living in Des Moines proper, and don't envision ourselves straying too far," she said. Brown has owned a home for nearly eight years now, and even with the low interest rates at the time, she doesn't think she could have afforded to buy a similar property in New York City or Los Angeles. While she thinks that it can be easier for millennials to live in the Midwest in general, given the relatively low cost of living, she admits that the region—even places like Des Moines—cannot offer the same excitement as larger cities. "I know a lot of people who have made the move—including my husband, who was only an acquaintance at the time of our moves!," she said. "The majority of those who moved with my company are still happily residing in Des Moines, although a few have returned home to Kansas." Vee, 31, who was born and raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, moved to Des Moines in 2022. "My brother was the first to live in Des Moines. He moved here for his job from Montana in early 2017. I came to visit him in the summer of that year, not expecting much from the city. But I fell in love the first day I visited," she told Newsweek. When the time came to move out of Virginia, the city was her only choice. "I wanted to move from the small area where I lived in Virginia to a more urban/city setting. However, NYC and other major cities were a big no due to cost of living, rent, safety and the layout," she said. "Des Moines is a city but it's different from the others." Vee believes that Des Moines "is one of the better places in the U.S. for millennials," offering low rents and home prices as well as an underrated art scene, dog-friendly bars, speakeasies, breweries and several music events every year. "I wish more millennials and Gen Zers would move here," she said. "I don't think they know what they're missing out on."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harlingen doctor becomes first Democrat to challenge GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz for South Texas congressional seat
Ada Cuellar, a Harlingen-based emergency physician, launched her campaign for Texas' 15th Congressional District on Thursday, becoming the first Democrat to run for the South Texas seat that her party is targeting in the 2026 midterms. Anchored in Hidalgo County along the border and running north to the edge of San Antonio, the district — represented by Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg — has been emblematic of Democrats' recent struggles throughout the Rio Grande Valley and with Latino voters generally. De La Cruz first won office in 2022, becoming the first Republican to represent the district after it was redrawn to favor Republicans. The seat has been in Democrats' crosshairs ever since. But South Texas was the epicenter of a national rightward shift in 2024 among Latinos, who make up about three-quarters of the 15th District's eligible voting-age population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. President Donald Trump was the first Republican to win Hidalgo County in decades, improving from a 28% vote share in 2016 to 51% last year. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will likely face an uphill battle. De La Cruz won reelection by 14 points in 2024, despite the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and other national groups targeting it as a potential pickup. The district leans Republican by a 7-point margin, according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index. While Cuellar — who has no relation to Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo — is the first candidate to officially announce, Tejano music star Bobby Pulido has also been floated as a potential candidate. Pulido said he planned to enter politics in 2026, and he has been heavily recruited by Democrats, according to Politico. Cuellar lives outside the district boundary, in the district of Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen. She is from Weslaco and went to college in Edinburg. Members of Congress do not have to live in the district they represent, though residing outside the boundaries can open candidates to attacks from their opponents. De La Cruz is the only Texas Republican the DCCC currently lists among its 2026 targets. But the spectre of redistricting, which could put more seats in play and upend the state's political map, is hanging over both parties. South Texas is a key area where Republican map-drawers will likely try to draw friendlier seats by targeting De La Cruz's Democratic neighbors, meaning the contours of the 15th District could change. Under any new map, the district's population is likely to remain overwhelmingly Hispanic — meaning Democrats will need to reverse their recent slide to have any chance of recapturing the seat. Cuellar, a 43-year-old Rio Grande Valley native, believes Latino voters, in particular, were looking for change last cycle as they felt the bite of high costs fueled by inflation. She believes Democrats can position themselves as the party of change in 2026, especially on issues like health care, after Republicans including De La Cruz voted for Medicaid cuts as part of Trump's recently enacted megabill. 'People are frustrated with health care costs, inflation, the economy, how difficult it is to succeed,' Cuellar said. 'And I think a lot of frustrations were directed towards the Democratic Party.' Democrats flipped the U.S. House in 2018 — including through pickups in Texas — largely by talking about Republicans' efforts to quash the Affordable Care Act. Democrats hope to follow a similar playbook in 2026 by homing in on the Medicaid and ACA cuts in the megabill. Groups have been actively recruiting physicians like Cuellar to run for office as part of that pitch. During her campaign, Cuellar said she also plans to discuss the need for a county hospital and more doctors in the district, along with plans to make health care more affordable. Disclosure: Politico has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 13–15. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. Solve the daily Crossword
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Kendall County is continuing to grow. Now, it's asking residents how it should develop.
At a community workshop at the Oswego Township building on July 14, a handful of residents aired their thoughts on how Kendall County should use its land in the future. They spoke about augmenting Forest Preserves, transportation access, agricultural tourism and what kind of development they want to see in their county, particularly against a backdrop of substantial development and population growth happening on the current edges of the Chicago suburbs. The workshop is part of a larger effort by the county to update its current Land Resource Management Plan. Through meetings, surveys and mapping tools, the county is attempting to gauge public opinion to form a county plan that will guide how they should develop over the next 10 to 15 years. Kendall County is the fastest growing county in the state in terms of percent population increase, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. From 2020 to 2024, it posted more than 8% growth — the next highest was just under 3%. That increase amounts to an influx of more than 11,000 residents to Kendall County since 2020, the largest numerical increase in a state that lost more than 100,000 residents over that same time frame. It currently sits as the 14th largest of 102 counties in the state, according to census data. In the past few years, the city of Chicago has begun to reverse a downward population trend, with its population increasing in both 2023 and 2024. At the same time, its suburbs have seen a wave of growth. For example, Plainfield — which sits in both Will and Kendall counties — led the region in terms of arrivals since 2020, according to past reporting. But with population growth comes the challenge of accommodating it, particularly in areas people move to for their rural characteristics and green space, local officials in the suburbs have said. Currently, Kendall County is mainly agricultural, according to a presentation from the county about its land use plan. The more developed area is primarily along the Fox River Valley corridor, with municipalities like Oswego and Yorkville along it. But it's growing rapidly, per the recent census data. 'The county has changed in terms of population makeup, as well as land uses, since the last plan was done,' said Matt Asselmeier, Kendall County's director of planning, building and zoning, which has spurred on their interest in the project. The county adopted a development plan in the 1990s, according to Asselmeier. There have been amendments to the plan since, but this project is the first major overhaul in several decades. According to the city's website for the development plan, the plan will be broken down into phases, looking at issues like land use, transportation and sustainability. The county has formed a land plan committee made up of county officials and employees along with a resident and local business owner to provide insights and community perspectives. Right now, the county is in the process of gathering survey responses (at and taking input via an interactive comment map. They're also holding community meetings — like the most recent one at the Oswego Township building. Their future workshops are happening at the National Night Out event on Aug. 5 at the Kendall County Sheriff's Office in Yorkville, and at the Plano Community Library District on Aug. 13. The county is receiving technical assistance from its consultant, Evanston-based Teska Associates, Inc., which is doing research, existing conditions analysis and working on outreach to the community via workshops and digital tools. They worked on the county's original plan in the 1990s, according to Asselmeier. The idea is that this plan would then serve as a guide for the county on how land should be used, as well as zoning and development project approvals. At the community workshop on July 14, Teska vice president Mike Hoffman said Teska developed the plan's logo and the project website and has been conducting interviews with individuals at the local townships and municipalities and with developers and engineers working in the county to gather information on the county. Teska senior associate planner Yuchen Ding described the mapping tool, which allows residents to mark places they like, ideas they have for the county, places that need improvement and transportation issues. Teska has used this tool for several of their other projects, Ding said, like Plainfield's recent transportation plan. Hoffman told The Beacon-News that this sort of program is essentially a tool put on top of Google Maps, that allows residents to select locations and leave comments. Ding also outlined results of Teska's existing conditions analysis, which essentially looks at the current social, economic, physical and environmental conditions of an area, he said, to set a baseline before developing goals and recommendations. The workshop also took community feedback. As part of a survey at the meeting Monday, the group of residents gathered selected balancing development with the rural nature of the county as the biggest challenge the county is facing, along with issues like water supply and property taxes. Residents also shared their thoughts on local housing developments, and maintaining open space by way of Forest Preserves, something Hoffman said could function to bring in tourism. The county is also facing transportation issues, said Jeff Wehrli, a member of the land plan committee and the county's Historic Preservation Commission and a former Kendall County board member. He pointed to Oswego Township, saying that, as farmland goes away and the area develops, the county should prioritize, for example, making bicycle paths to connect the area. Residents also discussed transit access, like extending a Metra line into Oswego, a project that's been discussed for decades but that hasn't come to fruition. Agricultural tourism, or agritourism, also came up, with Hoffman noting that the industry is on the rise in the county. 'I think, people of all around this area, where do you go to see the farming community?' asked Carlo Sesta, a resident who said he recently moved from Plainfield to Oswego. 'It's Kendall County, right?' Sesta suggested the county needs to balance that industry with other county priorities to ensure individuals continue coming to visit. And the balance between the rural and urban is one of the major questions they're facing, Hoffman told The Beacon-News, particularly as Kendall grows. 'There's people that have lived here a long time and love the rural county character,' Hoffman said. 'You've got a lot of people that are moving out from…denser suburban areas out to this area for that very reason. Yet, when you develop these areas, you create conflicts between the agricultural areas and the new, growing residential areas….Because it's growing so fast, it is that conflict (that) is a significant thing that we have to work into the plan and figure out ways to buffer and transition those things and educate people.' As for what's next for Kendall County, the comprehensive plan is still early in the process. Getting resident feedback is set to happen in rounds, Asselmeier said, with preliminary recommendations based on the community feedback they receive again being put to the community in the future. Hoffman said the goal is for the county and Teska to do another round of workshops in the winter, subsequently form the official comprehensive plan and have it approved early in 2026. Asselmeier said the future will depend on the community feedback they receive and what recommendations are ultimately made, and noted that changes will not likely be felt until down the line. 'It takes years to build roads, of course,' Asselmeier said. 'So, just because somebody identifies a road location, that might take years to actually see that into fruition.'
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Immigration activism: the fight against ICE reaches the South Bay
Scrolling through post after post on Instagram of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raiding workplaces, homes, and schools, anonymous senior Jordan sighed and powered off her phone, turning back to her English homework. She had no idea that the fear she was feeling from seeing videos of families being torn apart was about to be magnified tenfold. Minutes later, Jordan's mother, a birthright American citizen, would break the news to her and her sister that their father, an immigrant, had been deported. 'The news that he was gone just got blurted out, no big announcement or anything. My mom told me my dad was in Mexico, and that we probably wouldn't see him for a while,' Jordan said. 'I knew he had gotten into it with an ex-girlfriend and was in jail for a minor assault charge, but I had no idea he'd been deported. Even though he'd never really been a part of my life, hearing that he'd been taken away was still devastating.' The struggles of life as an immigrant According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 53.3 million immigrants living in the United States as of January 2025. Kelsey, a sophomore granted anonymity for fear of safety, is one of them, having moved to the U.S. from Russia when she was just 9 years old. 'My mom got married to a new man and told me that we were going to move to America to be with him,' Kelsey said. 'We left behind our entire family, and since I didn't really know English, I had to wait until the second semester to join school with everyone else. It was a very lonely start.' Kelsey was too young to remember much of the legal process her family took to obtain an immigrant visa. However, the struggle to obtain permission to leave the country is something that 'made an impact' on her childhood, she said, as it took nearly two years before she could legally visit Russia. 'Getting here was actually surprisingly easy,' Kelsey said. 'But getting a visa from [the U.S. embassy in Russia] was awful. We couldn't visit our family, and it felt like we were trapped in America.' Student coordinator for her college's Immigrant Justice Center and journalism major Ally, who also chose to remain anonymous, has a more complicated immigration story. After coming to the U.S. from Belize at the age of five without documentation, Ally was rejected three times when applying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Because she failed to receive DACA protection, Ally has been living at risk of deportation for most of her childhood and adult life. 'I've had some pretty difficult discussions about ICE with my partner, who is a legal citizen. He told me that if I was to get deported, he would go with me,' Ally said. 'Having his reassurance that he'd be there for me, even though he doesn't have to, makes me feel resilient, even when I'm fearing for the future.' Heightened fears under a new administration Making good on his campaign promises, on Jan. 20, newly elected President Donald Trump signed 34 executive orders, 10 of them related to immigration. These orders included the slashing of programs like CBP One, a mobile app developed by Customs and Border Protection to help asylum seekers, designating the border as a military priority, and suspending refugee admissions. Though these actions were justified as necessary to remove 'violent transnational criminals,' government data obtained by ProPublica showed that less than half of the immigrants detained from Jan. 20 to Feb. 2 had criminal convictions, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by politically active students like Jordan. 'Seeing these deportations of innocent people is horrible and heartbreaking. There's no reason that we should be kicking out our farmers, our contractors, and our construction workers,' Jordan said. 'These people have built this country, and we're treating them like animals.' According to National Public Radio (NPR), an American public broadcasting organization, 5,500 children were separated from their parents during Trump's first term, from 2017 to 2020. The 'zero tolerance' border policies aren't just cause for concern for undocumented immigrants—the American Immigration Council reports that 4.4 million children who are U.S. citizens have undocumented parents and are at risk for separation. 'I've seen people being round up everywhere. It doesn't matter if they're at a family event, with their kids or at work,' Jordan said. 'Because the arrests have been so violent and publicized, it's impossible for any immigrant to feel safe. I know my friends with immigrant parents are feeling the stress.' Ally said that she has seen 'a visible increase' in anti-immigrant sentiment on social media since the 2024 election. These hate campaigns have led to false rhetoric about certain immigrant groups becoming widespread, such as the 2024 hoax that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating residents' pets. This rumor was propagated by public figures such as J.D. Vance and Elon Musk on the social media platform X, and eventually led to dozens of reported bomb threats being called in across Springfield, real consequences for the spreading of false narratives. 'After I graduate, I want to use my training as a journalist to tell the real stories of the undocumented community. I'm tired of going into the comments of a YouTube video and seeing people repeating the same tired narratives,' Ally said. 'We are a very diverse community. Not all immigrants fit into one box […] even if the media sometimes makes it seem that way.' When thinking about what deportation would mean for her life, Kelsey has to consider the raging Russo-Ukrainian war she would be returning to. Despite her legal status, every new deportation raid still 'causes some worry.' 'I'm not even that scared for myself, though if something did happen to me, I would be devastated,' Kelsey said. 'I have a friend who immigrated here from Ukraine. She's already been stressed lately, and I can't imagine what would happen if she was deported to [such a war-torn country].' What can we do to protect our immigrant communities? With threats of deportation comes a lot of fear and anxiety for immigrant communities, especially for student immigrants who must reside in the U.S. for an extended period of time to complete their degrees. A study done by the Public Policy Institute of California reports that foreign-born students comprise 18 percent of undergraduate and 27 percent of graduate and professional school students in the state. This demographic includes Ally herself, who recently took to her school newspaper to express her concerns with the administration's handling of ICE on campus. 'To be honest, I was a little bit nervous about writing a critique of our admin. But when the story came out, I actually got an email from our Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice asking what they could do to help,' Ally said. 'They were interested in doing a workshop, but I told them that it couldn't just be a one-time thing. We need long-lasting protections for our students so they can feel safe coming to class again.' Jordan emphasizes protest as a means of vocalizing her support for the immigrants in her life. Even though she considers certain events like the anti-immigration crackdowns protest that occurred on Feb. 11, which blocked the 405 highway, as 'going overboard,' she still believes the First Amendment is the most important tool pro-immigrant activists have. 'I taught some friends about the history of colonization in Mexico, and the concept of nobody being illegal on stolen land,' Jordan said. 'And yeah, at protests it can be really scary when there's a bunch of big men and riot shields trying to hunt you down after you've built a life here. But you need to remember that you have a constitutional right to freedom of speech, and that your voice has power.' Related
