Fear of ICE sweeps prompts some Santa Ana families to use a remote learning program set up during COVID

Fear of ICE sweeps has prompted some Santa Ana Unified families to opt out of in-person learning and instead enroll in the district’s Virtual Academy that was set up during the pandemic, officials say.

Katelyn Brazer Aceves, vice president of the SAUSD Board of Education, told LAist about five to 10 families have told the district that "they would prefer our virtual option at this time because of immigration concerns.”

Some students are looking for virtual options, she added, because a family member has already been detained and the student needs extra support, or because family members are scared to go out in public.

Santa Ana Unified is the second-largest school district in Orange County, serving more than 35,000 students. The city itself is home to a large immigrant community that makes up about 41% of the population.

How SAVA works

The Virtual Academy, which serves students full-time from third grade through high school, is a fully online school that was created in response to the pandemic. Educators offer daily live teaching over Zoom, collaborative group learning and one-on-one instruction.

Interested families should notify their primary school site that they want to attend virtual learning, and school officials with SAVA will start the enrollment process, Aceves said.

The virtual learning can be used anywhere from two weeks to the full school year.

“We are making it very clear that we are to limit any barriers, and we're being extremely flexible as far as age and grade level to meet the needs, if there is a concern around immigration at this time,” Aceves said.

ICE fears rattle the community

Sandra de Anda, network coordinator at the OC Rapid Response Network, said parents’ fears are valid.

“They're not baseless. Just this week, we confirmed, alongside other community members, that ICE was staging pretty close by Century High School,” De Anda said. “It makes sense as to why more parents and students are exploring these virtual alternatives like SAVA because they get less exposure to these agents that, unfortunately, are rampant in our community.”

Immigration agents were staged at a parking lot near Century High School and have been seen operating near Kennedy Elementary, De Anda added.

“A lot of these actions are happening around school zones,” she said.

Multiple raids were also reported at a Home Depot on Edinger Avenue and Bristol Car Wash. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

Lessons learned from the pandemic

De Anda said the pandemic highlighted digital inequities in the Santa Ana community.

“Many of these folks didn't have Wi-Fi hotspots. Their Wi-Fi was always shoddy. There were moments where the kids had to help around the home, and had to simultaneously listen in on their education,” De Anda said.

The district is also focused on helping students feel connected to their peers while being remote, especially for those living in households with multiple families. For digital learning, De Anda said some students can feel alienated.

“Mental health is a very, very big issue that many of the families talk about,” she said.

The school district does have a Wi-Fi hotspot loaning program for all students, including virtual learners. The loaner program was also born out of the pandemic when digital equity was at the forefront.

Those legacy programs are now helping those in fear of immigration activity stay at home.

SAUSD spokesperson Fermin Leal told LAist the hotspots are issued to all virtual academy students and at the request of families. The district currently has about 2,500 of them loaned out.

More resources for SAUSD’s immigrant families

Since the November election, Aceves and SAUSD school board member Valerie Magdaleno said the district has been gearing up to support immigrant families.

“We tasked our superintendent at the time to create our immigrant support plan, and within that to create policies to respond to ICE activity,” Aceves said.

When ICE raids ramped up across Southern California, SAUSD officials saw a demand for help and responded. The June 10 workshop hosted 903 attendees, according to a staff presentation shared with the school board.

Officials also moved to train staff on immigration protections and connect families with resources, such as food distribution, Magdaleno said.

“We knew our district was going to get hit hard, so it was important that we were ready and that we took the necessary steps for our students to feel safe,” she said.

Magdaleno emphasized that campuses are safe and that the district does not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

“For students and families who still don't feel safe attending in person, we offer a variety of services," she said. “Whatever the students need, we're prepared to service them.”

Yusra Farzan contributed to this story.