Last Member Drive of 2025!

Your year-end tax-deductible gift powers our local newsroom. Help raise $1 million in essential funding for LAist by December 31.
$683,005 of $1,000,000 goal
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

KPCC Archive

This doctor treats LAUSD’s new immigrant arrivals. She was once one of them

Claudia Martin, a physician for the L.A. Unified School District, poses for a portrait in an examination room at the district's Student Enrollment Placement and Assessment Center. Many immigrant families and children — including some newcomers who arrived without parents — are referred here for medical, psychological and social worker services.
Claudia Martin, a physician for the L.A. Unified School District, poses for a portrait in an examination room at the district's School Enrollment Placement and Assessment Center. Many immigrant families and children — including some newcomers who arrived without parents — are referred here for medical, psychological and social worker services.
(
Kyle Stokes/KPCC
)

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

Listen 4:54
This doctor treats LAUSD’s new immigrant arrivals. She was once one of them

This summer's headlines were dominated by news of children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The separation is likely to cause lasting trauma for these young immigrants.

That trauma is familiar to educators in the L.A. Unified School District, which has built an entire infrastructure to support immigrant children, especially those who arrive in the U.S. without their parents.

One L.A. Unified physician is uniquely qualified to tell the stories of these vulnerable newcomers.

Listen to her story above.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right