Kamlager-Dove Bill Would Shield Pregnant Women in ICE Custody
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Culver City, Inglewood, South Los Angeles) reintroduced the Pregnant Women in Custody Act this week, legislation that would establish enforceable care standards for pregnant and postpartum women in federal custody — and for the first time extend those protections to women held by ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The bill comes in direct response to a mounting record of documented abuse. Between January 1, 2025, and February 16, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security reported that ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum, or nursing women — despite a Biden-era policy restricting such deportations except in extreme circumstances. Sixteen miscarriages were recorded during that period.
“Proper pregnancy care is a human right, regardless of your immigration or incarceration status,” said Kamlager-Dove. “Yet far too often, we hear devastating stories about expectant mothers who have been neglected, abused, and forgotten by the system. It’s unacceptable that there are virtually no legal safeguards for pregnant women in federal custody, and this bill aims to right that wrong by ensuring healthier, safer futures for mothers and babies.”
The updated bill expands on bipartisan legislation that passed the House in the 117th Congress, extending coverage beyond the Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Marshals Service to include all federal detention agencies. It adds new requirements for mental health and substance use treatment, high-risk pregnancy care, family unity, data transparency, and limits on restraints and restrictive housing.
Nationally, an estimated 58,000 pregnant women are admitted to jails and prisons every year.
Sherman Secures $1M for Jewish Federation LA Security Initiative Amid Rising Antisemitism
U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks, Northridge, Van Nuys) joined Jewish Federation Los Angeles this week to announce more than $1 million in federal funds he secured for the organization’s Community Security Initiative, which protects Jewish institutions across 40,000 square miles of Southern California.
The funding arrives as antisemitic incidents continue to rise across Los Angeles, the nation, and globally — and with the 2028 LA Olympics now on the near horizon, community security infrastructure has taken on added urgency.
“At a time when antisemitism is rising in Los Angeles, across our country, and around the world, protecting Jewish families, students, houses of worship, and community institutions isn’t optional — it’s essential,” said Sherman. “I will continue fighting to ensure the Jewish community has the resources it needs to live openly, proudly, and safely.”
The Community Security Initiative has operated for more than a decade, monitoring threats, coordinating with local law enforcement, providing emergency communications, and organizing security training for hundreds of Jewish institutions across the region.
Jewish Federation Los Angeles President and CEO Rabbi Noah Farkas said the funding would help improve the initiative’s capabilities during what he described as a “persistent threat environment,” and specifically noted Sherman’s foresight in positioning the program ahead of LA28.
Friedman Leads in Push to Block Paramount-Warner Mega-Merger
U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena) led 34 members of the California Congressional delegation in a letter Wednesday supporting California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s antitrust investigation into the proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance, independent of whatever the Trump administration does at the federal level.
Bonta announced in February that his office was conducting a “full and robust review” of the deal after Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved it.
“Given that we cannot have confidence that the Trump Administration review of the merger will be conducted according to the law, and with the best interests of American workers and consumers in mind, it is even more vital that you conduct a thorough, independent review,” the 34 lawmakers wrote to Bonta.
More than 42,000 jobs in Los Angeles County’s motion picture industry were lost between 2022 and 2024. On-location production in the greater Los Angeles area declined 13.2% in the July through September 2025 period alone.
Gomez Joins Lawmakers in Urging SCOTUS to Protect Mifepristone Access
U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, East Los Angeles) joined more than 250 House and Senate Democrats in filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn a Fifth Circuit ruling that threatens access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion medication that has been on the market for more than 25 years.
The brief follows emergency appeals from Mifepristone manufacturers and a temporary stay issued by the Supreme Court while the case moves forward. In it, lawmakers argued the FDA has consistently affirmed mifepristone’s safety and effectiveness, and warned that allowing courts to override science-based medical decisions would set a dangerous precedent and further restrict access to reproductive health care.
“For more than 25 years, the FDA has consistently affirmed that mifepristone is safe and effective, and millions of patients have used it safely,” the lawmakers wrote. “Allowing courts to overrule evidence-based medical decisions threatens both access to care and the integrity of the FDA’s approval process.”
The brief was signed by all 47 Senate Democrats and 212 House Democrats. Lawmakers also warned that reinstating burdensome in-person dispensing requirements would disproportionately harm patients in communities where reproductive health care providers are already difficult to access.
Feldstein Soto Stands by Officer After Jury Clears LAPD in Death of 14-Year-Old Valentina
Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto is standing by LAPD Officer William Dorsey Jones Jr. after a jury found him not liable yesterday in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta, who was killed by a stray bullet at a North Hollywood Burlington store on December 23, 2021.
The 9-3 verdict came after nearly a month of civil trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Orellana-Peralta was shopping for Christmas dresses with her mother in a second-floor dressing room when Officer Jones fired his rifle at Daniel Elena Lopez, 24, who had been attacking customers with a bike lock. A bullet ricocheted off the floor, passed through the dressing room wall, and struck the girl. Both Orellana-Peralta and Lopez died.
“Society calls upon our police officers to risk their own safety to protect others and run towards danger when others run away,” said Feldstein Soto. “Officer Jones answered that call in pursuit of a violent man threatening bystanders and beating a woman inside the store. We stand by him, knowing that he has carried the burden of Valentina’s death with him for many years.”
The family sought more than $100 million in damages, alleging the LAPD failed to adequately train and supervise responding officers. The California Department of Justice had previously declined to file criminal charges in connection with the shooting. The family’s attorney, Nick Rowley, called the verdict “the most devastating loss of my career.”
