Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, March 11, 2025…
- A German tourist has spent more than a month in US Immigration custody here in California. Her friends say she’s experienced a terrifying ordeal.
- LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says he opposes the resentencing of the Menendez brothers, who are serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents.
- UCLA has launched a new effort to combat antisemitism on campus.
German Tourist Held Indefinitely In San Diego-Area Immigrant Detention Facility
It was meant to be a perfect reunion. Amelia Lofving, a designer, had just moved to Los Angeles. Her friend Jessica Brösche, a tattoo artist from Germany, was spending the winter in Mexico. The two planned to meet up in Tijuana, cross the border, and head to LA. “We were going to have a month of just making art,” said the 37-year-old Lofving. “That was our plan.”
But Brösche, 26, never made it to LA. She’s been in federal immigration custody since Jan. 25 — the day they tried to cross into the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Brösche had her German passport, confirmation of her visa waiver to enter the country, along with a copy of her return ticket back to Berlin, Lofving said. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent pulled Brösche aside for a secondary inspection. CBP agents at the border accused Brösche of planning to violate the terms of the visa waiver program by intending to work as a tattoo artist during her trip to LA, Lofving said.
KPBS independently confirmed that Brösche is in federal custody. CBP declined to comment on the specifics of the case, citing privacy concerns.
After nearly a month, Lovfing was able to reunite with Brösche. Lofving said Brösche told her about her time in custody — and a particularly difficult nine-day period in what amounted to solitary confinement in a CBP holding cell. “She says it was like a horror movie,” Lofving said. “There were people screaming from the rooms all around. They are feeding her through a little mailbox hole. She didn’t have a blanket, she didn’t have a pillow. It’s basically a yoga mat on the ground and a toilet on the corner.” Brösche is expected to be on a flight Tuesday afternoon, where she’ll be deported to Germany.
LA’s New DA Opposes Resentencing And Release Of Menendez Brothers
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Monday that he does not support resentencing the Menendez brothers because they have not fully accepted responsibility for killing their parents more than three decades ago.