LAUSD Superintendent Albert Carvalho during a school board meeting on August 30, 2022.
Credit: Julie Leopo/EdSource
Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho confirmed Thursday morning that the district denied campus entry earlier this week to Department of Homeland Security officials seeking information about five students in first through sixth grades.
On Monday morning, federal officials arrived at two district elementary schools, Lillian Street Elementary and Russell Elementary in South Los Angeles, Carvalho said, adding that Monday’s interactions marked the first effort by federal authorities to enter Los Angeles public schools since the Trump administration announced efforts to boost immigration enforcement and speed up deportations.
At a news conference Thursday morning, he said that the visit by the federal officials was “a sad day across Los Angeles — not just for our school system, but for our entire community.”
“As a school system, we have a professional responsibility to protect, to educate, to inspire young people,” Carvalho added. “I also have, beyond my professional responsibility, a moral responsibility to protect these students.”
The authorities were dressed casually and only presented identification when asked by the principals of the schools, Carvalho told reporters. He also claimed the officials quickly hid their credentials when the principals attempted to write down their information.
According to Carvalho, the agents said they wanted access “to the students to determine their well-being” because they had come to the United States as unaccompanied minors.
The agents said they were authorized by the students’ caretakers to go to the campuses, but the district has since confirmed the assertion to be false by speaking with the caretakers, Carvalho said.
“Across the country, different agencies have been deputized and deployed to collaborate with ICE,” Carvalho said Thursday, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “So, if a federal agent presents themselves to our schools, regardless of agency, asking for direct access to our students, that is suspect behavior that we’re not going to tolerate.”
He also praised the schools’ administrators and staff for their response, saying they are trained to handle these situations, including demanding officials’ credentials and examining any warrants or subpoenas.
If proper documentation isn’t presented, Carvalho said the officials will be asked to leave, and LAUSD’s operations department, legal department and school board police department are notified.
“We will protect our kids. We will educate our kids. We will inspire our kids. We will not allow abuse, intimidation of our children or our workforce,” he said. “Schools are places for learning. Schools are places for understanding. Schools are places for instruction. Schools are not places of fear.”
LAUSD’s actions, Carvalho maintained, are in keeping with the law. And in November, Los Angeles Unified affirmed its commitment to being a sanctuary district.
Carvalho, a native of Portugal, said he arrived in the U.S. as a youth without authorization. “If I am to represent who I am and what I became in this country, I have to do it in a way that honors the humanity and dignity of those who are currently in the same exact condition decades after I was in that predicament,” Carvalho said. “So, I would put my job on the line in the protection of our students and our workforce.”
دیدگاهتان را بنویسید