Kamlager-Dove blasts Supreme Court ruling gutting Voting Rights Act
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D – Los Angeles, Culver City, Inglewood), Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus, sharply condemned the Supreme Court’s April 29 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, calling it an erosion of one of the last remaining protections against racial discrimination in redistricting.
The 6-3 ruling, written by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by all five other Republican-appointed justices, struck down Louisiana’s congressional map that included two majority-Black districts.
“The Supreme Court just eroded one of our last lines of defense against racial discrimination in redistricting. Today, it’s Black voters in Louisiana who may lose equal representation. Tomorrow it’s communities of color everywhere who risk losing the hard-fought progress they’ve made in electing leaders who reflect their lived experiences,” Kamlager-Dove said. “The Voting Rights Act was born out of sacrifice and struggle. Like those who marched before us, we will continue to show up for our fundamental right to vote and rebuild what the Court has relentlessly weakened. We must start by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and reforming this out-of-control Supreme Court.”
While the Court declined to find Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional outright, it established additional criteria for evaluating redistricting claims that critics say effectively gut the provision’s enforcement power. Justice Elena Kagan, writing in dissent, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, said the majority opinion rendered Section 2 “all but a dead letter.”
Analysts on the left warn that up to a quarter or more of the Congressional Black Caucus and roughly a tenth of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus could be affected by map changes that would previously have triggered Section 2 scrutiny.
Supporters of the ruling argue the decision restores constitutional colorblindness, holding that race-conscious redistricting — even when intended to remedy past discrimination — itself violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Chu, Lieu demand answers after man dies in ICE custody at Adelanto
U.S. Reps. Judy Chu (D – Pasadena, San Gabriel Valley) and Ted Lieu (D – Santa Monica, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Manhattan Beach) sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) demanding answers regarding the death of Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano, a 52-year-old man who died in ICE custody on March 25.
Ramos-Solano was arrested by ICE on February 23, and detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County. ICE reports that Ramos-Solano was found unconscious and unresponsive in his bunk and that security staff immediately contacted onsite medical staff and emergency services, who initiated life-saving procedures. He was then transported to Victor Valley Global Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
“The circumstances surrounding Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano’s death are unacceptable. Deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody have risen under Trump. We continue to see preventable deaths driven by inadequate medical care and a lack of meaningful oversight in detention facilities. That is a systemic failure,” Lieu said. “The Department of Homeland Security has a duty to ensure the safety and basic dignity of every person in its custody. We demand accountability because lives depend on it.”
However, other detainees recount a conflicting account, saying they attempted to notify staff about Ramos-Solano’s deteriorating condition but that despite their calls for help he was not attended to until he was unconscious. Detainees also allege that he died at the Adelanto Center itself, not at Victor Valley Global Medical Center. ICE’s investigation into the death remains ongoing.
“The trend of medical negligence and poor living conditions in Adelanto is deeply concerning. We need answers for the death of Mr. Ramos-Solano, and the others who have suffered and died in ICE custody,” Chu said. “Mr. Ramos-Solano should still be alive today. It is unacceptable to hear from other detainees that Mr. Ramos-Solano did not receive basic medical care. We cannot let this be overlooked, and that is why we are calling for full transparency and accountability to ensure tragedies like this never happen again.”
Bass continues to fight for LA’s entertainment industry
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who authored California’s first Film and Television Tax Credit legislation as Speaker of the State Assembly, is calling for a “no cap” state film tax credit, a new federal Film and Television Tax Credit, and is opposing the proposed Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery unless it avoids job cuts.
“We are in a global battle for entertainment jobs, and we must hold nothing back in our fight,” Bass said. “This is about an industry that is essential to our middle class and who we are as a city.”
Bass also weighed in on the pending Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, warning federal regulators that job protections must be enforced during the approval process.
“I cannot support a deal that results in massive job losses,” she said. “I urge federal regulators to enforce job protections and creative freedom during the approval process, and I call on Paramount’s leadership to redouble its commitment to the industry workers in our city,” she said.
Last week, Bass unveiled a new pilot program providing a 20% discount at LADOT-owned parking lots citywide for film productions of all sizes — addressing one of the industry’s most persistent logistical complaints about the cost of parking equipment, trucks, and production trailers.
