“Safe zones” for migrants: the new measure in Los Angeles schools to mark the return to classes

Los Angeles public schools kicked off the new academic year Thursday with the unprecedented challenge of getting thousands of students back into the classroom amid growing concerns about immigration enforcement, which has intensified in recent days in the surrounding area.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest in the U.S., deployed “safe zones” in more than 100 of its schools in Latino and immigrant-populated neighborhoods, which are patrolled by school police and volunteers to alert them to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Fear on the first day of school

In addition, school buses have expanded their routes to provide service to as many students as possible, as part of a strategy to provide peace of mind to both students and immigrant parents.

The strategy includes an information campaign on the rights of immigrants that will include weekly forums.

The initiative began at the end of the 2025 course, with the support of the UTLA teachers’ union and community groups such as Unión del Barrio, which have called on the community to report the presence of federal authorities.

Despite vigilance initiatives, fear is palpable on the first day of school.

Maria Hernandez, an immigrant mother said in a telephone interview with EFE that she has considered withdrawing her 7-year-old son from school.

“Today a friend of mine took him to school, but I have no one to pick him up; I don’t know how long we can put up with this,” says the mother, who does not speak about her immigration status or that of her little boy.

She says that her son has been sad in the last few weeks, “he couldn’t enjoy his summer vacation” and that although he likes school and his teachers, this Thursday he woke up not wanting to start his second grade of elementary school.

The double challenge

This dilemma shows the dual challenge facing school officials and Los Angeles schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who has a goal of decreasing truancy in the district of more than 400,000 students.

Since before the major immigration sweeps began in Los Angeles, Carvalho, a former undocumented immigrant, has shielded the district’s public schools from allowing ICE agents on or near campuses.

The superintendent has urged immigration authorities not to conduct activities within a two-block radius of schools from one hour before the start of the school day until one hour after school is dismissed.

“Children in fear cannot learn well,” Carvalho said at a press conference in which he warned that LAUSD will oppose any entity and its officials who interfere with the educational process of children.

Mayor calls for an end to raids

Similarly, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday that all Angelenos have come together to send a clear message to the White House: “Stop these discriminatory and reckless raids now.

The Democrat also noted that immigration agents are temporarily restricted by a federal judge’s order that banned immigration detentions based on racial, language or employment discrimination.

However, ICE agents have continued to conduct raids in recent days including an incident last Monday in which they pointed their guns at a 15-year-old boy and handcuffed him outside Arleta High School.

The teenager, who suffers from a disability, was approached by agents without identification when he was waiting for his relatives in a family vehicle.

Thanks to the intervention of school authorities, the young man was released.

Chilean Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, 18, was not so lucky and was arrested last week while walking his dog.

The young man was preparing for his senior year of high school in Los Angeles.

“With our students returning to class, we call on all community partners to help ensure that classrooms remain places of learning and belonging,” Carvalho stressed in his call for the community to make a united front.