Welcome back to The Weekly Wrap, our Friday roundup of stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions that bring us closer to economic, environmental and social justice. If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.

As Executive Orders Roll In, So Do Lawsuits To Protect People’s Rights

On his first day in office, President Trump signed 26 executive orders, including one that rescinded 78 executive actions implemented by the Biden administration, the Washington Post reports. Other executive orders include an attempt to end birthright citizenship in the U.S., declaring a “national emergency” paired with immigration orders, ordering the federal government to only recognize “two sexes, male and female,” withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement (along with other reversals on climate progress), and ending federal DEI offices and initiatives.

A federal judge has already blocked the birthright citizenship order, which would violate the 14th Amendment by rejecting U.S. citizenship for children born to people living without legal status in the country, according to The Hill. At least six lawsuits have been filed against the order. The 19th reports on a group of pregnant women who’ve filed one of the suits and the ACLU is also suing.

Speculators Prey On Black Homeowners In Wake of Los Angeles Wildfires

Real estate speculators are already calling families in Altadena, a middle-class enclave of LA, looking to purchase the ruins that are still smoldering in the neighborhood. (They’re also targeting residents in other parts of the city affected by the fires.) “There’s not a lot of compassion,” Danielle Neal, a fourth-generation resident of Altadena, told Bloomberg. “It feels like a version of looting.” The outlet also notes that Altadena is an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County, which will make it challenging to rebuild “without a local mayor or city council to oversee development.”

Governor Newsom issued an executive order to protect wildfire survivors from speculators by allowing the state to hold “predatory speculators accountable through stronger enforcement and prosecution.” The order is modeled after an order issued by Hawaii Governor Josh Green to preserve local communities and protect residents from exploitation after the Lahaina wildfires.

Returning Citizens No Longer Have Jail Debt in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Commissioners in the county voted to forgive more than $65 million in pay-to-stay debt for people who’ve been incarcerated and their families, Bolts reports. The September 2024 vote follows a 2022 decision to end future pay-to-stay fees, or room and board charges for people to are incarcerated. These types of fees are not unique to this county. According to Captive Money Lab, a research project of several universities that tracks economic punishment in the U.S. criminal legal system, at least 43 U.S. states have some form of pay-to-stay in their prisons.

Watchdog Investigation Uncover Systemic and Illegal Housing Voucher Discrimination

Housing Rights Initiative has filed the largest housing discrimination case in Illinois history, according to a press release issued by Disability Rights Advocates. The case is against 165 real estate agents, brokerage firms, and landlords alleging they illegally discriminated against low-income families who sought to use Housing Choice Vouchers, also known as Section 8.

This comes after an undercover sting operation in which a group of investigators posed as prospective tenants, “contacting hundreds of brokers and landlords by text message to determine whether they were complying with the Illinois Human Rights Act,” WBEZ reports. They found that about 36% of the time, people with vouchers were explicitly discriminated against.

How Sanctuary Cities Are Preparing For Mass Deportations

Cities across the U.S. are preparing to protect immigrant residents amid the Trump administration’s planned deportations. The mayors of Chicago and Denver, for example, have reiterated that their cities will not participate in immigration enforcement under Trump, Bloomberg reports. They aren’t the only ones. As of January 2025, “13 states and more than 200 cities and counties have policies that limit compliance with federal immigration enforcement,” according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

Also, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to end the practice of avoiding sensitive areas. Now, schools, hospitals and churches, which are no longer protected from immigration raids, are also preparing for what’s to come.

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MORE NEWS

• In LA’s Altadena neighborhood, community food solutions feed wildfire recovery. Civil Eats

• Trump’s words changed Springfield, Ohio. Its Haitian community is bracing for what’s next. The 19th

• This skateboarding economist suggests we need more skateparks and less capitalism. NPR’s Planet Money

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• Project for Public Spaces is considering applications for its Community Placemaking Grants. Nonprofits, public agencies and municipalities in Georgia, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Texas can apply for funding to transform outdoor public spaces into lively community hubs that improve street safety and mobility. Apply by Jan. 31.

• Los Angeles Public Library’s Creators in Residence program is considering applications from “creators from a wide range of disciplines.” Apply by Jan. 31.

• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is awarding grants to organizations and communities that are actively reimagining land use and zoning as tools to advance health equity. (Disclosure: RWJF is a current funder of Next City.) Apply by Feb. 6.

• The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Claremont Lincoln University are seeking a new cohort of fellows for the Lincoln Vibrant Communities initiative. Apply by Feb. 18.

• AARP is accepting applications for this year’s Community Challenge Grant Program for projects that help make communities more livable for people of all ages. Apply by March 5.

• The Mellon Foundation is offering general operating support for community-based archives in the U.S. and its territories. Apply by March 12.

• Check out Next City’s jobs board for new opportunities.

EVENTS

• Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern: Urban Land Institute is hosting a virtual panel on how California is collecting and applying demographic data to advance health equity in California and what other states can learn from its experience.

• Wednesday, Feb. 12th at 10 a.m. Pacific: In 2025 and beyond, how can we craft a shared vision of an equitable economy in a multiracial democracy? What lessons can we learn from past movements? What agendas and plans can we implement today? How can we strategically take on risk as we fight for justice? Common Future, PolicyLink, and Brava Leaders will be discussing these questions and more in this webinar.

• Thursday, Feb. 27-28 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific: The Center for Law, Equity and Race and the Black Reparations Project are hosting a two-day event bringing together scholars, advocates, elected officials, and community stakeholders to advance the work of reparative justice. There are virtual and in-person (Oakland, California) attendance options.

This post was originally published on Next City.