Schools to block ICE, protect pupils

LAUSD expands its aggressive defense of immigrant families as school year begins.

- BY HOWARD BLUME

ALLIANCE College-Ready charter schools have trained staff on the legal rights of immigrants. Above, an Alliance high school in L.A.

Los Angeles public schools are opening Thursday for the new academic year confronting an intense and historically unique moment: They will be operating in opposition to the federal government's immigration raids and have set in motion aggressive moves to protect children and their immigrant parents.

School police and officers from several municipal forces will patrol near some 100 schools, setting up "safe zones" in heavily Latino neighborhoods, with a special concentration at high schools where older Latino students are walking to campus. Bus routes are being changed to better serve areas with immigrant families so children can get to school with less exposure to immigration agents.

Community volunteers will join district staff and contractors to serve as scouts - alerting campuses of nearby enforcement actions so schools can be locked down as warranted and parents and others in the school community can be quickly notified via email and text.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass spoke about "how profound this moment is in U.S. history" during a Monday news conference with local officials.

"Here you have an entire array of elected officials, appointed officials, education leaders, people committed to our children, and we are gathered here today to talk about protecting our children from the federal government," Bass said.

L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho said recently that the nation's second-largest school system will oppose “any entity, at any level, that seeks to interfere with the educational process of our children. We are standing on the right side of the Constitution, and years from now, I guarantee you, we will have stood on the right side of history. We know that.”

Student reportedly handcuffed