Federal Immigration Agents Denied Access To Los Angeles Public Schools

Agents with the Department of Homeland Security showed up at two elementary schools in Los Angeles this week, but were refused entry amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The two agents “identified themselves as representatives of a federal agency” and went into the main office, but school administrators refused to allow them on campus, and the agents left, the Los Angeles Unified School District said.

The two public schools were Lillian Street Elementary and Russell Elementary.

The district said the agents were from Homeland Security, and no Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents showed up. It is not clear exactly what the agents were hoping to do at the schools.

About one in four of the nearly 30,000 immigrant students in the Los Angeles school district, so about 7,500 students are illegal immigrants, according to the local teachers’ union, United Teachers Los Angeles.

“We want to reaffirm the District’s unwavering commitment to the well-being and education of all students,” the district said in a message to the community.

The district’s message included a link to the district’s immigration resources, which promise that the district “has protocols for responding to immigration personnel requests for information” and “will do everything in its power to protect and defend students, families, and staff.”

“Our schools are places of inspiration, protection, empathy, and knowledge. Fear and threat shall be met with courage and determination,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.

The Los Angeles district also alerted other school districts about “reports of immigration enforcement activity.”

The agents’ visit to the schools comes after the Trump administration scrapped the Biden administration’s policy barring immigration agents from “sensitive” areas.

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” former acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman said in January.

“The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” he said.

This week’s visit by the agents is believed to be the first time immigration agents have shown up at a public school since President Donald Trump took office.

About 98,000 illegal migrant students graduate from U.S. high schools across the country every year, the Los Angeles teachers union said.

For years, sanctuary cities like Los Angeles have refused to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration enforcement, not just in schools, but in criminal cases.

Oftentimes local law enforcement is directed not to hold illegal migrant crime suspects until ICE agents can get there to arrest and deport them, meaning the suspects get released back onto the streets.