The Los Angeles Teachers Union and its allies held a rally calling for fighting for immigrant families in the school district, including asking the federal government to return all students detained and expelled from Los Angeles.
District officials – both downplayed the union’s confrontational tone and said they were united with various constituent groups to support immigrant families.
Saturday’s rally was held outside the school district headquarters, including a parade through the city. It attracted about 500 raucous participants, many of whom wore bright red shirts associated with co-teacher Los Angeles, which represent about 38,000 teachers, counselors, social workers, nurses and librarians.
They shouted, “Education is not deportation.”
And: “Speak loudly! Make it clear! Immigration is welcome here!”
The rally speakers included Rising Senior Vanessa Guerrero, who participated in the nearby Miguel Contreras Learning Complex. She talked about a classmate who was occupied and deported.
“She is going to be a senior this year,” Vanessa said. “She goes to school every day, works hard, and is an honorary student. She really contributes to the school’s community. She is a good person.”
Vanessa and others said her classmates and the girl’s mother were caught while attending the immigration appointment.
“Honestly, everyone is scared,” Vanessa said.
Unions call for a direct confrontation with the Trump administration, including participating in litigation to protect immigration rights. Officials said that despite strong criticism of its actions, there has been no lawsuit with the Trump administration.
Specific union requirements include building a perimeter of two blocks around schools where immigrant agents are not allowed.
It is not clear whether district officials or staff will have jurisdiction outside the school.
Kindergarten teacher Esther Calderon joined hundreds of other educators at a rally on Saturday to call for better protection and support of immigrant students and families.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The union also calls for a “formal campaign” that will update the emergency card with family members and add other trustworthy adults to the family contact list, for example, if the student’s parents are detained.
Alberto Carvalho, a Los Angeles school, said outreach activities were conducted for this purpose.
The union also called on payment counselors to return to work before the first day of school to ensure families affected by immigration enforcement or may be affected by immigration enforcement are willing and ready to return their children to school.
It is not clear how many students or family members are detained or deported. The school district did not collect information about immigration status. Some cases have become a high-profile event and have been widely reported. However, in other cases, both regional policies and privacy protections limit what is disclosed in the school system.
Union leaders said they also want the area to provide food and personal care items “to undocumented families who shelter in their homes” and provide virtual learning options for students who are “fearing in-person school due to immigration raids.”
They called on the region to develop “pathways” for deported students.
The principal’s office did not immediately respond to specific requirements, but school board chair Scott Schmerelson said the district would consider any steps to protect and support families.
Schmerelson attended Saturday’s rally.
“Some of these ideas seem very feasible,” Schmeresen said. “The principal is working on safety access.”
In their ode, union members vow to close the school system if it doesn’t meet their demands, even if their hostility points more clearly to the federal government.
“This violence affects all of us,” said UTLA president Cecily Myart-Cruz. “Immigration students are black, they are brown, they are Asian. The trauma in these communities affects everyone.
She added: “The psychological well-being of the entire classroom is at stake. That’s why we asked Lausd to openly call on our local and state leaders to return immediately to all students who have been deported or detained so that they can resume education.”
In a statement responding to the union assembly, the school system emphasized common goals.
“It is obvious that Los Angeles is unified, our labor partners unite, and we firmly protect every student, including our immigrant children,” the statement said. “Together, we will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure that all children in Los Angeles are safe, supported and educated – a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.”
At his traditional back-to-school address – a course starting August 13 – Carvalho pays homage to the two principals who, along with their staff, turned down immigration agents on both primary school campuses.
The agents – who stopped at school the same morning in April – said they were conducting welfare checks on specific students, but did not provide any documents to support the claim.
The principal kept them out.
“You became a shield, protecting the innocent lives of 7, 8, 10-year-old children from fear, they will never know,” Carvalho said in his speech. “Yes, you followed the agreement, but more importantly, you followed the conscience. Because of your beliefs, … an unimaginable day has not become an unimaginable tragedy.”
School district officials touted a list of measures taken to protect students and families and described the campus as a safe environment in which federal immigration agents will be excluded to the maximum extent of the law.
The union participated in contract negotiations with Los Angeles’ second largest school system. At this stage of negotiations, unions are standard practices around its contracts that require members of the assembly and put pressure on the school system, but Saturday’s rally focused almost entirely on supporting support from influencers in the Los Angeles-area immigration sweep under the Trump administration.
