Los Angeles school officials have a message for President-elect Donald Trump about his promised immigration crackdown: we’re ready for you.
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who came to the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant from Portugal, said this week the nation’s second largest district is preparing for the incoming administration’s planned mass deportations.
The district has begun mandatory training for staff in how to respond if federal immigration officers appear at or nearby schools, Carvalho said, and has produced ‘know your rights’ cards to be distributed to students, with directions on how to behave if approached by immigration agents.
But LAUSD can only do so much to combat the fear and anxiety felt by the district’s immigrant families, the superintendent said Monday at a press conference to discuss the measures.
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“No child of any age should face that awful, disturbing condition,” said Carvalho. “That is why we’ve created safe spaces in our schools for our students to come together.”
Since 2017 LAUSD has had a policy to not voluntarily cooperate with immigration enforcement actions by federal agencies and in November school board members approved a resolution to reaffirm LA Unified’s status as a sanctuary district.
School officials do not collect or share information about the immigration status of students and their families, Carvalho said, and federal agents will be denied access to schools unless they possess proper judicial warrants.
President-elect Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has promised to begin his second administration with widespread federal enforcement action to remove undocumented people from US cities, possibly with help from the military.
LAUSD officials do not keep records of students’ immigration status. About 15% of the district’s students are English language learners, and about 13% of students speak Spanish as their primary language.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, about 146,000 students enrolled in California public schools are undocumented. Nearly three million children in California have at least one undocumented parent, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty.
The Department of Homeland Security designates schools as protected areas where immigration enforcement should be avoided. Federal enforcement action at schools was limited in the first Trump administration.
But the president-elect has vowed to step up enforcement in his second term.
Evelyn Aleman, founder of Our Voice, a parents’ group which advocates for LA Unified’s low-income and Spanish-speaking families, said immigrant families in LA are living in fear of what may come when Trump takes office.
Even those here legally are concerned their immigration status could be rescinded, Aleman said.
“Right now, there’s a lot of anxiety and fear in our communities,” said Aleman. “We don’t really know what’s going to happen, and it’s that uncertainty that makes everyone so nervous.”
Aleman said even the threat or presence of immigration enforcement near schools is enough to discourage students from attending classes.
When federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in 2017 detained a Los Angeles father after he dropped his daughter at school, Aleman said, immigrant families in the area stopped sending their kids to class.
Immigrant families use text messaging and social media to warn each other of the presence of ICE agents in their neighborhoods, said Aleman.
For weeks, she said, immigrant families in Los Angeles have been meeting via Zoom, over the phone and in person to discuss what to do if enforcement ramps up when the president-elect takes office.
Meanwhile, state officials in California are also preparing protections for immigrant families.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta in December issued guidelines and model policies for how districts can comply with state law limiting state and local participation in federal immigration enforcement. This month he also published guidance for immigrant families in case of contact with federal agents.
California lawmakers are also preparing new statutes. One bill introduced in the state assembly last month would inhibit federal immigration agents’ access to schools. Another bill introduced in the state senate would establish a “safe zone” of one mile around campuses.
Ana Mendoza, a senior staff attorney at American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and director of the organization’s Education Equity Project, said that such efforts can offer real protections to immigrant students.
“Even though immigration enforcement happens in California, the federal government can’t come in and ignore the guardrails, violate due process and do what it wants,” said Mendoza. “The state can protect its citizens from federal government abuse, and individuals can also protect their rights.”