Congresswoman Luz Rivas Holds Town Hall Meeting

A vocal crowd of constituents gathered at East Valley High School in North Hollywood last weekend for Congresswoman Luz Rivas’ first Town Hall event, which focused on “fighting back against Trump/Musk.”

“I’m here to tell you what’s happening in D.C., what we’ve been doing and everything we need to do to stop Trump,” said Rivas, eliciting applause and cheers from the audience. She said her offices in Washington, D.C., and Arleta “have been flooded with calls – you guys are angry; I’m angry, too.” 

Rivas, who represents the 29th District and took office Jan. 3, described President Donald Trump’s numerous actions since he began his second term as “chaotic” and “scary.” Rivas said she hears about Trump’s latest announcements or executive order via the news “like everyone else; they don’t give us a heads up. It’s like a fire hose coming at us,” she explained.

“They’re laying off thousands of federal workers and dismantling programs that help our communities,” said Rivas, who said she has joined forces with fellow anti-Trump House Democrats in Washington, D.C., to try to counter the calamity nearly every day.

“This is not a normal time,” she said. “We have a litigation and rapid response task force, so that every time there’s a [new] executive order or something else that comes out, right away [we] come up with ways to take action.”

Health Care and Immigration

Also on stage during the Town Hall with Rivas were Kim Wyard, CEO of Northeast Valley Health Corporation, who addressed the administration’s potential impacts on health care; and David Huerta, president of SEIU-USSW, who discussed immigration. Rivas noted that many of her constituents have identified immigration and health care as two of their top concerns.

A looming worry is the administration’s goal of cutting up to billions in funding from Medicaid, which provides health care coverage for approximately 80 million low-income, unemployed and disabled adults and children nationwide, including 15 million in California alone via the Medi-Cal program. In Rivas’ district, about 52% of residents rely on Medi-Cal for health care.

Rivas said cutting Medicaid funding would impact people in all areas of the country, including in Republican strongholds. She said House Democrats are “applying public pressure” on GOP leaders to support funding for Medicaid, including Congressman David Valadao, who represents California’s 22nd District in the San Joaquin Valley – 67% of his constituents are on Medi-Cal.

“Am I scared? Yes, because I’ve had funding frozen – $200,000 in family planning funding frozen – while the federal government does an examination to see if I’ve spent any of that money on DEI,” said Wyard. Any funding loss could impact the services they offer at health centers in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys.

One of Trump’s executive orders called for a freeze of federal funding for nonprofit organizations, including health care, with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, subjecting the nonprofits to federal scrutiny.

“Some nonprofits that I’ve talked to, their boards have decided to … remove DEI [initiatives]. Some say, ‘We’re going to keep [DEI] because it’s part of our mission,” said Rivas. “Boards of nonprofits are making these tough decisions, unfortunately, but we are advocating for them.”

Regarding immigration, Huerta said there have been a growing number of incidents highlighting the lack of due process and erosion of civil rights now happening as the administration pursues mass deportations, including the illegal deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. A resident of Maryland, Abrego Garcia was initially sent to CEOT, known as an inhumane supermax prison in El Salvador, but was eventually relocated to another penitentiary. His wife, his attorney and supporters continue to fight for his return to the U.S.

As of early last month, over 33,000 people had been detained nationwide by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said Huerta. By contrast, the number of detentions in LA has been 283 “because, as a community, we have been doing the work of informing immigrants of their rights” – including staying silent, not opening the door and asking for a warrant, he said.

Huerta acknowledged, however, that people’s rights can still end up being violated. Huerta shared one family’s harrowing experience – in the middle of the night, U.S. Marshals, ICE officials and FBI agents broke down the family’s front door, entered their home, did not present a warrant and ended up removing their 14-year-old daughter, who was bound with zip ties.

“We are doing as much as we can in community and in collaboration with our elected officials,” said Huerta. “Whether you’re an immigrant or not, people should be vigilant at this moment in time.”

Rivas Encourages Residents to Stay Involved

Several people interrupted Rivas and the presenters while they were speaking, shouting out, “What are the Democrats doing?!” and “Where is the leadership?!” Other residents, equally boisterous, responded loudly, repeatedly urging them to “Let her speak!” or “Let him speak!”

Rivas spoke frankly to residents. She said the biggest obstacle is that Republicans are the majority in both the House and Senate, and are currently blocking Democrats’ legislative efforts to respond to Trump’s anti-immigrant and anti-diversity policies, and his continuing attempts to trample civil liberties and slash funding for programs that support disadvantaged communities.

Rivas said that there have been small but notable victories. Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it will restore funding to the Women’s Health Initiative, a 30-year study of women’s health, following pressure from medical experts and scientists.

In addition, there have been several successes to date in the courts, said Rivas. 

“Right now, the courts are where we can fight. Today is day 97 [of Trump] and there have been 108 court orders that have stopped something that Trump and Musk are trying to do,” said Rivas during the April 26 Town Hall. As of press time two days later, that number had climbed to 123 court rulings that have at least temporarily paused some of the administration’s initiatives.

“We are collaborating with and supporting outside groups that are filing these lawsuits, like the ACLU, Democracy Forward and Democratic attorney generals, including ours in California, Rob Bonta,” said Rivas. “The state recently approved $25 million for our attorney general to focus on fighting back.”

Rivas emphasized that “this is just the beginning – we need to unify” against Trump.

“I’m willing to come out here and listen and I want you to continue to stay engaged and continue fighting,” continued Rivas. “You’re fighters and I love that. That’s what we need.”

Thomas Adler from North Hollywood, who was among the estimated 150-plus people who attended the community gathering, said the event was “incredible,” but wishes they would have allowed participants to ask the Congresswoman their questions directly via microphone. That way, he explained, “every person in there would have felt like they were really being heard.” 

Instead, the questions were submitted beforehand – either online when people registered for the event or written on notecards as they arrived – and read by staff members during the Town Hall.

Regarding Rivas’ leadership to date, Adler said he “loves” that she joined the Congressional Progressive Caucus, unlike her predecessor, former Congressman Tony Cárdenas. Adler’s biggest concern is “getting money out of politics; that has been the downfall of our democracy,” he said.

“There’s so much big money in politics that politicians are listening to their donors rather than listening to constituents,” he said, adding that he hopes Rivas will continue working for the people who elected her. “We need to restore the government back to ‘We the people.’”