Monday, armed troops stormed MacArthur Park in Los Angeles—terrorizing street vendors, elders, and even children at a summer camp.
“One Big Beautiful Bill” just poured billions more into ICE and border enforcement. And let’s be clear: this wasn’t an isolated sweep. It was a message meant to stoke fear in our hearts. A blueprint for what’s to come.
And in the thick of this escalation, Ms. Magazine published a story that couldn’t be more urgent: Because what happened in MacArthur Park isn’t just a crisis—it’s a call. And this piece is about the people answering it. It’s about organizers who aren’t just resisting, they’re rewriting the rules. It’s about the Solís Policy Institute.
When the Federal Government Fails, Local Organizers Step In—With Laws, Not Just Protests
Our SPI fellows are writing legislation—not in abstract, but in response to state violence, violence like we saw yesterday. Authoritarianism that looks like militarized raids, yes—but also like budgets that strip survival resources from food banks, deny basic hygiene, domestic violence shelters, housing programs, and reproductive care.
If federal policy is waging war on our communities, then state and local policy must be our defense—and our future.
Our fellows aren’t waiting for permission. They are drafting bills rooted in lived experience, guided by the most impacted, and shaped in coalition. They are doing what our government should have always done: respond to harm with care, not cages.
I hope you’ll ask: What policies are being written where I live—and by whom?
And I hope you’ll stay close, stay sharp, and stay in community.
This is what feminist governance looks like. This is how we build safety—together.