LAUSD Just Put New Rules in Place To Protect Students During Immigration Raids

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) started its new school year but this year things are different. The public school system is focusing on protecting students in the face of increasingly indiscriminate raids in Los Angeles. The school system has already said they would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Now, they are restructuring bus routes and other things to keep students safe.

LAUSD is adding protections for students in the face of immigration raids

The Department of Homeland Security rescinded a previous policy that prevented immigration agents from conducting raids in sensitive locations. Sensitive locations include hospitals, courthouses, schools, and places of worship. The rule change happened under the order of Secretary Kristi Noem. This leaves people vulnerable to detention when appearing at immigration court dates or attending classes.

“I think we all agree that in our community there are no sidewalks for immigrants and separate sidewalks for everybody else,” LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a press conference announcing the additional security measures. “Everybody walks the same journey to school and everybody then walks back home.”

Los Angeles has been a major focus of immigration and mass deportation efforts by the Trump administration. LA residents took to the streets in downtown for days in protest when the raids first started. The increased presence of immigration agents included militarized agents storming MacArthur Park this summer, which is located in a heavily immigrant community.

The school district is using multiple tactics to accomplish its goal

In response, LAUSD is putting the safety of students at the forefront of the new school year. The school district is doing this in a few ways. One step the school district has taken is sending out family preparedness packets. The packets include literature on rights, ways to change emergency contact information, and information on the LAUSD “compassion fund.”

The school district is also changing its bus routes to better serve the students and families in the second-largest school district in the U.S. Some of the preexisting bus routes have been changed, and new routes have been established. The new bus routes will limit students’ exposure to potential ICE agent interactions.

Another tactic is increasing employees and volunteers at the schools to protect children from federal immigration agents. Former School Police Chief Steven Zipperman is also leading a task force focused on making schools a safe place for the 400,000 children enrolled in the LAUSD.

“One thing that you have seen in our region over the last couple of months is complete unity. You have seen unity across cities, you have seen it across leaders, because we all believe in a core principle that we will do what we can to defend the rights of Angelenos and to protect one another,” Mayor Karen Bass told LA Magazine about the school district’s efforts. “Together we can reaffirm to our community, parents, teachers and families our unwavering commitment to do everything we can and in our power to keep kids safe as they return.”