Homeland Security agents attempted to enter 2 LAUSD schools. Here's what families should know

Federal agents attempted to enter two Los Angeles Unified elementary schools this week.

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a press conference Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security’s presence sowed fear among educators and the surrounding community.

" My very first question starts there— what interests should a Homeland Security agent have in a first-grader or a second-grader, a third-grader or a fourth-grader for that matter?" Carvalho said.

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The Department of Homeland Security said agents acted in the interest of student safety.

“These HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) officers were at these schools conducting wellness checks on children who arrived unaccompanied at the border,” a DHS spokesperson told LAist by email. “This had nothing to do with immigration enforcement.”

Carvalho said this is the first time federal agents have tried to enter LAUSD schools since the start of President Donald Trump's second term.

What happened this week?

Carvalho described Homeland Security's attempts to meet with five students in total on the South L.A. school campuses.

• Homeland Security agents entered Russell Elementary around 10 a.m. Monday. Shortly thereafter agents also entered Lillian Street Elementary. Both schools are in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood, west of Huntington Park.
• School employees asked for identification. When staff tried to take information down, agents pocketed their IDs and refused to allow staff to write down names and badge numbers.
• The agents said they had permission from students’ guardians to enter the school and asserted they had the right to enter the school. Per Carvalho: "We've spoken with the caretakers of these children, in some cases, parents, and they deny any interaction with these entities and certainly deny providing authorization for these individuals."
• The principals of each school denied the agents entry and contacted the district’s legal department.
• The agents left.

A DHS spokesperson confirmed this timeline of events, but said the purpose of the visit was to check on the health and welfare of the students in question.

Carvalho said some resources have been provided to the targeted schools, including psychiatric social workers and counselors who deal with immigration, and that legal assistance is available.

Principals throughout the district notified families this week of “immigration enforcement activity,” but did not provide specifics, including in response to a request for information from LAist.

Carvalho said it waited to offer a public account in order to protect the students and avoid media descending on the two schools.

How does LAUSD handle concerns related to immigrant students?

The district’s policy is not to share information or cooperate with immigration authorities. Carvalho said access to individuals within a school requires a warrant. The district’s board declared LAUSD a “sanctuary district” in 2016 during Trump’s first term in office.

The district began messaging around immigration ahead of the November election, reaffirming support for immigrant students, given President Donald Trump’s strong rhetoric around deportation of undocumented immigrants.

The district distributed “know your rights” cards to students in January, and students have been active in protesting the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Carvalho re-upped his own message on Thursday.

“I would be the biggest hypocrite in the world, regardless of my position today,” Carvalho said, “if today I did not fight for those who find themselves in the same predicament I faced over 40 years ago when I arrived in this country at the age of 17 as an undocumented immigrant. Education made me and saved me.”

The advocacy group FWD.us estimates there are 72,000 undocumented students in California’s K-12 schools.

Ilse Escobar, a community organizer for United Teachers Los Angeles, told LAist she’s happy that principal training is working and wants to make sure all staff members know it well. “We’re starting to think more of the school staff will have to be involved in knowing the protocols,” she said.

In the California Senate, Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) introduced legislation that requires schools and college campuses to immediately notify students, parents and employees if immigration agents are present on the grounds, similar to early warning systems in place for emergency alerts.

Carvalho said Thursday that “all the parents in that school community are automatically called when something like this is happening.”