Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho angrily reacted on Thursday after federal agents tried to get access to two elementary school campuses in South Los Angeles earlier this week, Lillian Street Elementary School and Russell Elementary School.
“As a former undocumented teenager in this country, I cannot renounce, I cannot take off that skin, I cannot shed my experience,” LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a press conference on Thursday.
“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,” he said. “So I would put my job on the line in the protection of our students and our workforce.”
Five individuals were targeted at the schools, Carvalho said. The principals did not confirm or deny that the five were students because that would be an abuse of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Carvalho added.
“But I can tell you that four names were declared at one school. One name was declared at the other school. At Lillian Elementary, they mentioned a sixth grade student. At the other school, at Russell Elementary, they mentioned four individuals, ranging in grades between first and fourth grade.”
The surprise effort by federal agents to enter two LAUSD schools was believed to be the first time federal agents tried to enter schools after the Trump administration announced a crackdown on immigration enforcement. The federal agents were denied entry to the two schools following LAUSD protocols.
This comes after Trump’s administration authorized federal agents to enter “sensitive areas” to conduct immigration-related investigations — something that was against the Biden administration’s guidelines.
Carvalho also stressed that the school district is following federal laws. “Folks, I want to be very clear about this. We are folllowing federal law. … The constitution of our nation declares under its equal protection clause, that all students, regardless of immigration status, have a right to a free public education. We are guaranteeing that.”
The agents were from the Department of Homeland Security, the school district later confirmed. Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement were not involved.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” said former acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman on Jan. 21, who ran the department before Kristi Noem was sworn in on Jan. 25. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
As of Thursday morning, the goal of the agents at the Los Angeles schools was unclear.
On Monday, April 7, the following message from LAUSD was shared with the community at Lillian Street Elementary:
“We wanted to make you aware that two individuals who identified themselves as representatives of a federal agency came to the main office earlier today. After following District protocols, school administrators denied entry to the individuals, and they left. We want to reaffirm the District’s unwavering commitment to the well-being and education of all students. Please note that our website lausd.org/weareone is available 24/7 with resources regarding the District’s policies and “Know Your Rights” updates.”
An LAUSD official confirmed a similar message was sent to the Russell Elementary School community, while other schools in the district sent out precautionary messages, reading: “We are aware of reports of immigration enforcement activity and want to reaffirm the District’s unwavering commitment to the well-being and education of all students. Mental health support is available on campus for impacted students and employees.”
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