Los Angeles students are staying home in fear of deportation, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) superintendent said on Monday.
LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said students are not showing up to class in the second semester of the 2025-2026 school year due to concerns over immigration enforcement.
"During the first semester, we saw across our community, with deep impact to our schools, immigration raids that have created fear in every single neighborhood," Carvalho said according to local ABC affiliate KABC.
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The district reportedly reassured parents that the schools are safe zones from immigration enforcement because federal officials are not allowed to enter the grounds without a signed judicial warrant.
"Attendance matters. Showing up every single day on time makes a huge difference," Karla Estrada, LAUSD deputy superintendent of instruction, said.
School district employees are receiving training to know their rights and how to deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
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"We repudiate, we reject the climate of fear. It has no place in our community, has no place in the streets of our nation," Carvalho said.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has stated that "approximately 133,000 undocumented children attend California's public K-12 schools, and many more have parents or relatives who do not have legal status."
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"I know many California teachers and administrators are wondering how best to protect their students amid the Trump Administration's indiscriminate, callous mass deportation campaign," Bonta said.
Bonta said that although California cannot interfere with federal immigration enforcement, the state chose not to assist with the "President's inhumane agenda."
"We have a number of new laws on the books designed to protect the rights of California's students to safely attend schools to the fullest extent allowable under the law. In California, our diversity is our strength, and we will continue to stand up for our immigrant communities in the face of relentless attacks from the federal government."
Carvalho's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
