LAUSD announces safeguards for immigrant students on same day federal agents make arrest outside school

Ahead of the start of school on Thursday, Los Angeles Unified is working to reassure students and families concerned about potential immigration enforcement action that there are resources available to help them navigate the new school year.

“ It is virtually impossible, considering the size of our community, to ensure that we have one caring, compassionate individual in every street corner, in every street, but we are deploying resources at a level never before seen in our district,” said Superintendent Alberto Carvalho at a news conference Monday while flanked by school board members, labor leaders and local elected officials.

LAUSD’s boundaries extend beyond the city of Los Angeles, and at Monday’s news conference, leaders from those areas also pledged support, including the mayors of South Gate, Bell and Vernon, alongside L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.

The district said that as of Monday they have made 10,000 phone calls and 800 home visits to vulnerable families to offer resources and support — for example, to English language learners, students at newcomer academies, and those who stopped coming to school toward the end of last school year as immigration enforcement actions ramped up.

The district is also noting a 7% increase in sign-ups for virtual school, though it is emphasizing that the most effective education happens in the classroom.

How will the district plan to protect immigrant students?

The district already has protocols in place for how campus administrators respond if federal agents visit, as happened this spring. But the district announced additional steps this week, on the heels of protests by teachers and others calling for stronger protections:

• New bus routes to serve students whose families may feel uncomfortable walking or driving them to school. 
• On the first day of school, the district will dispatch 1,000 staff members from its central office to provide more information and support to families at school sites in communities frequently targeted in immigration raids.
• Local law enforcement collaborations. For example, Vernon Mayor Leticia Lopez said the local police force would  respond to calls for service at the school on behalf of the Los Angeles School Police Department so those officers can focus on other campuses within the district.
• A “rapid communication task force” headed by a former L.A. school police chief to spread information between school sites and law enforcement agencies. 
• The distribution of information packets to students in English and Spanish about how to interact with immigration agents, create a plan to care for their child in an emergency and get resources. 

Does LAUSD actually have the capacity to react to immigration enforcement actions that might be happening at schools?

 ”We cannot be everywhere all the time, but the networks of information and awareness that we have stood up are strong,” Carvalho said.

Incident at Arleta High

He emphasized that immigration enforcement agents do not have access to students unless they can provide a signed judicial warrant. And absent that, they would be looking for Los Angeles school police to “de-escalate” with law enforcement or immigration enforcement agents.

By way of example, the superintendent noted an incident at Arleta High School on Monday morning, in which a teenage student with disabilities was questioned and handcuffed by federal agents while accompanying another student for registration.

Los Angeles school police and staff intervened and the teenager was ultimately released, Carvalho said. LAist asked the Department of Homeland Security for comment, but has not heard back.

 ”This is the exact type of incident that traumatizes our communities,” Carvalho said. “It cannot repeat itself.”

Carvalho called for the stoppage of immigration enforcement actions near school campuses an hour prior to the start of classes and for an hour after the day ends. He did not specify to which agency or officials the demand was made.

“We are appealing to the better senses of those who have the power to eliminate trauma from the streets of our community,” Carvalho said.