The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday pledged its support to ensuring education access for immigrant students, calling for increased Know Your Rights presentations and alternative learning options.
In January, the federal government rescinded a “sensitive locations” policy that restricted immigration enforcement actions in certain places including schools, houses of worship and essential service providers.
“Since this decision, educators across the country have been grappling with fear among students and parents that immigration enforcement will show up at the school site to execute deportation raids,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said.
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Solis also cited data that she said indicated that immediately after the announcement, some K-12 schools reported a decline in attendance.
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said agents from the Department of Homeland Security were turned away from entering two South Los Angeles schools on April 7, Lillian Street Elementary and Russell Elementary.
Supervisor Holly Mitchell said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents asked for children by name, falsely claiming to be there to perform a welfare check with authorization from their caretakers.
“If schools can’t be a safe place for parents to send their children every day and not assume that agents of government will misrepresent their intentions when they show up, we are in challenging times,” Mitchell added.
All supervisors supported Mitchell’s statement, with Supervisor Lindsey Horvath adding, “What we saw last month at Russell Elementary and Lillian Street Elementary was one of the worst fears we have realized right here in Los Angeles County.”
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told the Los Angeles Times last month that the agents were with the department’s Homeland Security Investigations unit.
“These … officers were at these schools conducting wellness checks on children who arrived unaccompanied at the border,” she said. “DHS is leading efforts to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused and sex trafficked.”
Solis said it was “imperative” for the county to “stand by its commitment to provide education to all of our children regardless of their immigration status, and to work with their families who have been deterred by changing federal policy from sending their children to school.”
Solis said the Los Angeles County Office of Education was already offering resources to immigrant families including training to school staff, Know Your Rights workshops and alternative learning options, including remote lessons and student transfers.
Tuesday’s motion, introduced by Solis and Mitchell, called for the measures to be amplified and to ensure that they reached all students, families and school staff.
The board passed the motion with a 4-0 vote, with Board Chair Kathryn Barger abstaining.
The LACOE was directed to survey all schools districts in the county to assess whether students, parents and staff were aware of the programs and mental health support services, and report back in 14 days with a plan to ensure widespread action.
The board also directed the office of Legislative Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations Branch to support any legislation that would expand access to alternative instruction options for students who have been deterred from attending school by immigration enforcement activities.