things that matter

LAUSD Just Made It Harder For ICE To Walk Onto Their School Campuses

Prayitno / Flickr / @ICEgov / Twitter
By May 11, 2017 at 4:21 pm

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) voted unanimously this week to guarantee sanctuary for their students while in class. The Washington Post reports that the Los Angeles School Board voted unanimously to pass a resolution that will make it harder for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to arrest students and their parents while on school property. The decision has been greeted with cheers of joy and cries of anger.

This week, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) took a strong stand against ICE agents having access to children while at school.


Federal immigration agents will now need to seek the approval from the superintendent of schools and district attorneys before being allowed onto any campus that is part of the LAUSD network, according to the resolution that was passed unanimously.

“Whereas, ICE’s longstanding policy states that it will not conduct immigration enforcement activity at any sensitive location, which includes schools, without special permission by specific federal law enforcement officials, unless exigent circumstances exist,” reads part of the resolution. “Whereas, no written state or federal law mandates that local school districts assist ICE in the enforcement of immigration laws. Whereas, the district has been a leader in championing the rights of all students to receive a public education regardless of immigration status and has passed various resolutions including the February 2016 resolution LAUSD Campuses as Safe Zones and Resource Centers, which declared that every district site will be a place of support and resources for all students and families.”

There are people who are very happy that LAUSD took this stand against easy cooperation with immigration law enforcement.


“This resolution makes me even prouder to be part of the L.A. Unified family,” Board President Steve Zimmer said in a statement according to LAist. “Today, we send a clear message to the White House: We will not cooperate with any form of immigration enforcement actions of this administration. But, we send a clearer message to our L.A. Unified students and families: Every L.A. Unified school is safe for every child and every family. We stand with you and we stand with your dreams.”

And some people see the move as a blatant slap in the face to federal immigration agents and deportation efforts.


An ICE detention made national headlines earlier this year. Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez, a father of 4, was apprehended by federal immigration officials while taking his daughters to school. According to The Washington Post, this arrest is part of what prompted LAUSD to take a stronger stance in protecting the students and parents that use their schools.

A few people were asking if “Hollywood liberals” would be rushing their children into the same “sanctuary” schools.


But many students, teachers, and parents are celebrating the resolution that had unanimous support from the Los Angeles School Board.


“This is an important opportunity for LAUSD to be a model for the state and for the nation,” Sylvia Torres-Guillén, the director of education equity for ACLU of California, told LA Times.

Many are arguing that the move is necessary to keep the kids focused on their education instead of staying safe.


And many are just happy to hear the the second largest school system in the country is taking the steps necessary to create a safe environment for children.

You can read the full resolution here.


READ: He Was Taking His Children To School When ICE Stopped And Arrested Him Half A Mile From His Daughter’s School

Share this story with all of your friends by tapping that little share button below!

Tags: , , , ,

Report Claims Mexico Is Second Deadliest Country And Mexico Isn't Having It

things that matter

Report Claims Mexico Is Second Deadliest Country And Mexico Isn’t Having It

West Point / Hugo Cesar / FLICKR
By Lucas Molandes May 11, 2017 at 4:50 pm

A recent report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) claims that in 2016, Mexico was the second deadliest conflict-zone in the world, placing it behind war-torn Syria. The report was quickly picked up by President Trump, who retweeted the story to his 29 million followers. However, Mexican officials believe the IISS methodology was flawed, leading to misleading and “sensationalist” data, The Guardian reports.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Mexico experienced 23,000 homicides in 2016, putting it behind Syria’s total of 50,000 fatalities.


According to IISS data, Mexico outranks both Iraq and Afghanistan in “ten most lethal conflict zones in 2016.”

IISS officials claim the “conflict deaths” are related to escalations in cartel violence, CNN reports.


The survey shows that homicides rose in 22 of Mexico’s 32 states, and that “small arms” play a heavy role in the violence. The report also attributed the number of homicides to more than cartel on cartel violence. Citizens, as well as journalists, politicians, and the authorities are often caught up in the conflict, which the IISS compared to civil war levels of violence.

The report’s statistics didn’t sit well with many people.


They were quick to point out that there are other countries with higher homicide rates.


Mexican authorities, also dispute the legitimacy of the IISS report’s claims that Mexico is a “conflict zone.”


As The Guardian reported, Mexico’s foreign and interior ministries released a statement, saying, “Mexico is far from being one of the most violent countries in the world.” The ministries pointed out that Mexico’s murder rate of 16.4 per 100,000 citizens was far lower than that of many Latin American countries, including Honduras, which has a murder rate of nearly 90.4 per 100,000 citizens. Also mentioned is that some U.S. cities top the list of most violent, including St. Louis and Detroit.

The Economist reported that several of Mexico’s cities have the highest death rates in the world, but these areas are typically affected by cartel violence, which is often influenced by bordering countries, including the U.S., whose dependence on the drug trade contributes to the cartel’s violence.

Despite the violence, much of Mexico remains unaffected. As The Guardian pointed out, tourism in the country is on the rise, up 9 percent in 2016, and in the last few years, many top drug cartel leaders have been killed or captured.

For more on this story, check out The Guardian.

[H/T] The Guardian: Is Mexico really the second-deadliest country in the world?

READ: It’s A Matter Of Life Or Death For This 59-Year-Old Immigrant Told To Leave U.S.

Recommend this story to a friend by clicking on the share button below. 

Tags: cartel, Mexico
We recommend
She Came To The U.S. With Only $1,000 And A Dream For Her Daughter, Decades Later They’re Both Graduating College Together

Graduation season is well on its way and once again, Latinas are stepping up to the stage to prove once again that great success can be achieved by anyone who puts the work in. From ones embracing their parents’ immigration stories to others celebrating their parents for their own hard work, there’s no doubt Latinas […]
New ICE Director Candidate Claims To Know If A Minor Will Be A Future MS-13 Gang Member By Looking Into Their Eyes

Donald Trump’s pick to be the new ICE director claims that he can look into a child’s eyes and determine whether or not they will be a gang member.
Trump Administration Proposes New Policy That Could Leave 55,000 Children Homeless

In a new proposal, the Trump administation launches an attack on immigrant families, this time with a policy that could leave 55,000 kids homeless.

Paid Promoted Stories