LA teachers ask communities to help guarantee safe passage for students as ICE arrests continue

Teachers in Los Angeles are calling on community members to help students get safely to and from school. The request comes as the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign continues and as many campuses reopen.

For families in L.A. Unified, the new school year will begin on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Ahead of that date, educators this week held a news conference in front of the district’s headquarters in downtown L.A. where they announced two upcoming trainings: one for all school employees and another for community members at large.

“Our students are why we exist as educators. We owe them more than an education . . . We owe them a school where they feel safe to learn, to dream, to thrive — just like the children of those ICE agents, just like the children of those who are initiating these policies,” said Guadalupe Carrasco Cardona, a member of United Teachers of Los Angeles and an English language development coordinator at the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in Westlake.

At the news conference, Cardona was joined by colleagues who form part of Unión del Barrio, a grassroots organization founded in San Diego. Armed with megaphones and walkie-talkies, volunteers patrol neighborhoods and warn community members about the presence of federal immigration agents.

Ron Gochez, a history teacher at Dr. Maya Angelou Community Senior High in South L.A., emphasized the context in which students must make their way to class. Last summer, the Supreme Court stayed a lower court order that barred federal agents from targeting people based on factors like perceived race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or “speaking English with an accent.” Critics say the majority effectively green lit racial profiling.

“This is not business as usual. The kids have suffered tremendously,” Gochez said, noting that some of his students’ family members and neighbors have been detained and deported.

“The way we keep students and parents safe, before school and after school, is by being on the streets,” added Ingrid Villeda, a teacher at 93rd Street Elementary in South L.A.

Villeda also urged Angelenos to continue documenting arrests with their phones.

“We need everyone out, and we need everyone ready to record,” she said.

Upcoming trainings  

• For the general public, there will be an in-person training at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at the United Teachers Los Angeles building. Address: 3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th floor, Los Angeles

• For people who work at schools — including teachers, administrators, bus drivers, campus aides, custodians and office staff — there will be an online training at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14. To participate, you must register online.