Hahn Condemns Torrance car wash ICE raid
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn (D-Long Beach, San Pedro, Diamond Bar, Whittier, Cerritos, Downey, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hacienda Heights) yesterday condemned a violent ICE raid on Sunday in which masked federal officers detained workers at the Bubble Bath Hand Car Wash in Torrance yesterday afternoon.
According to media reports and videos, masked federal agents aggressively detained two employees at the car wash, sparking a confrontation with the business owner and concern from family members who say they don’t know where their loved ones are.
The owner identified the detained employees as Hans Hernandez and Alfredo Vasquez, both of whom have worked at the car wash for more than 15 years. He said neither has a criminal record.
“Just a block away from a monthly street fair where Torrance families were enjoying a normal Sunday afternoon, these masked thugs sent by our own federal government violently raided a local car wash — shoving a worker’s face into a gate and throwing another onto the ground. All the while, another federal agent films the raid with camera equipment. They are trying to make an example of these hardworking people, robbing businesses of their workers and families of their breadwinners,” said Hahn.
Cudahy distances itself from vice mayor’s comments
The City of Cudahy yesterday distanced itself from Vice Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez’s recent comments, made and later deleted on social media.
According to media reports, the FBI has opened an investigation into Gonzalez after she posted a video urging Latino street gangs to fight back against federal immigration agents, calling for members of the 18th Street and Florencia 13 gangs to “protect” their “turf.”
In her now-deleted video, Gonzalez taunted the predominantly Mexican and Mexican-American gangs, saying they couldn’t lay claim to territory in her town unless they stood up to Immigration and Customs Enforcement — “the biggest gang there is,” according to media reports.
“The comments made by the Vice Mayor reflect her personal views and do not represent the views or official position of the City of Cudahy,” the City said in a statement.
“The City will not be providing further comment.”
Zbur names Pride Month honoree
Assemblymember and Democratic Caucus Chair Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Universal City, Hollywood, Hancock Park, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica) yesterday presented Jenny Pizer as his 2025 Assembly District 51 Pride Month Honoree.
Pizer is Chief Legal Officer and Eden/Rushing Chair for Lambda Legal, the country’s oldest and largest legal organization representing the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people and people living with HIV.
“For almost three decades, Jenny has been a pivotal leader in the national brain trust of the LGBTQ+ movement,” said Zbur. “Jenny has shaped the long-term strategy aimed at achieving full, lived equality for LGBTQ+ people, and her work has never been more vital than it is today, as we face the most hostile federal climate toward LGBTQ+ people in my lifetime.”
Since joining Lambda Legal’s staff in 1996, Pizer has litigated cases to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in employment, education, health care, and family law, including marriage, and against the use of religion and free speech rights to license discrimination.
Chu reintroduces Women’s Health Protection Act
U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Pasadena), alongside Reps. Lois Frankel (D-FL), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Veronica Escobar (D-TX), yesterday reintroduced H.R. 12, the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2023 (WHPA), a critical bill to restore the right to abortion nationwide and stop extremist abortion bans in states across the country.
The measure was introduced three years to the day that the Dobbs ruling overturned nearly 50 years of precedent under Roe v. Wade, stripping millions of Americans of their constitutional right to abortion. Since then, draconian abortion bans have taken hold in 19 states across the country, endangering lives and giving politicians unprecedented power over personal medical decisions.
WHPA would enshrine the protections of Roe into federal law by creating a federal right to access abortion carefree from medically unnecessary state-based restrictions. Once again, WHPA has been filed as H.R. 12, reflecting its status as one of House Democrats’ top legislative priorities. WHPA has already passed the House twice when Democrats held the majority and remains the most widely supported abortion rights bill in Congressional history.
“We cannot have true equality in America without reproductive freedom. Three years after the Supreme Court ripped away the right to bodily autonomy, millions of women are living in a country of forced birth, bleeding in ER parking lots, crossing state lines for care, or being kept on life support against their families’ wishes,” said Chu. “That’s why I’m proud to reintroduce the Women’s Health Protection Act, because no one should have more rights in California than in Texas. We will not stop fighting until we achieve full reproductive justice.”
