Educators rally for release of LA student held in immigration detention for three months

Educators and community members rallied Monday for the release of a San Fernando Valley high schooler who has been in federal immigration detention for almost three months.

Men claiming to be immigration agents arrested Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz while he walked the family dog in Van Nuys on Aug. 8, less than a week before the 18-year-old would start his senior year at Reseda Charter High School.

Guerrero-Cruz’s former teacher Lizette Becerra said when she visits him at the Adelanto Detention Facility and talks to him on the phone he always mentions going back to school.

“ If he's dreaming about the day that he can walk across the stage and graduate, then we're gonna continue to fight for him so that he is able to do that,” Becerra said.

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A senior Department of Homeland Security official told LAist in a statement that Guerrero-Cruz overstayed a tourist visa while visiting from Chile and was required to leave the country by March 15, 2023.

Guerrero-Cruz is one of at least four local students who have been detained by immigration enforcement since this summer. They include a 9-year-old Torrance boy deported to Honduras and a rising L.A. senior deported to Guatemala.  

Teen arrested while walking his dog

One of Guerrero-Cruz’s neighbors, Valerie T., who declined to be identified by her full name out of fear of retaliation, saw four men wearing tactical vests labeled "immigration" standing near unmarked black SUVs on the morning of Aug. 8. One man held the leash of a barking small black dog.

“ The masked man unclipped the dog's collar and let it run into the streets,” Valerie said at an August rally.

She said the men refused to identify themselves or the dog’s owner. Neighbors have since recovered the dog, Athena, and reunited her with Guerrero-Cruz's family.

Guerrero-Cruz recounted his arrest to his former teacher, Becerra, when she visited him at Adelanto in August.

Becerra said Guerrero-Cruz told her he heard the men who drove him away in an unmarked SUV say they would receive $1,500 for his capture.

“ And that ‘lucky for him for them, they would be able to have drinks that weekend,’” Becerra said.

DHS rejected Becerra’s allegations about the circumstances of the teen’s arrest.

“Claims that DHS uses private contractors or 'bounty hunters' to make arrests are false,” the official wrote.

Becerra said that in the first two weeks of his detention, Guerrero-Cruz dropped 20 pounds and said there was limited access to food and showers. Multiple reports from advocates, attorneys and facility staff have found conditions in the detention center can be unsafe and unsanitary.

DHS also denied Becerra’s allegations about conditions inside the detention facility.

A photograph of Guerrero-Cruz from the a fundraising page established to support his family.

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Screenshot taken Nov. 4, 2025

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Support for the family

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a news conference last week that he’s spoken with Guerrero-Cruz’s mother and the principal of the school he attended.

“It is a regrettable tragedy,” Carvalho said. “We know what is happening and we will continue to support that family.”

The Los Angeles Unified School District declined to comment on Guerrero-Cruz’s case or provide additional details about the type of support provided.

A district spokesperson said LAUSD works with external organizations to connect families with legal resources and representation.

A nonprofit that supports the district has established a fund to support families experiencing hardship, including immigration raids. Community members are also raising money to support Guerrero-Cruz’s family through a GoFundMe.