California education system support efforts to restrict ICE

By Esther Wickham
The Center Square

The California education system continues to fight U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid new laws claiming protection for students and California residents.

With the Trump administration cracking down with deportations across the country, concerns surrounding immigration have risen across California schools.

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 627, or the No Secret Police Act, which bans masks for ICE agents, at Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, a Los Angeles high school.

Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, began the news conference by stating that the district, state, and city are united in protecting students and families from “immoral, unethical and illegal actions” regardless of immigration status.

“Despite the injustice. Despite the fear. Despite the pressure. Despite the unbearable lack of humanity. Our kids are soaring,” Carvalho said. “And for the second year in a row, these students have provided best-in-class achievement across all grade levels.”

In response, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said this past week that it won’t follow the California law.

“To be crystal clear: We will not abide by Newsom’s unconstitutional ban,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

The ban from SB 627 is scheduled to take effect in January.

According to a press release from the Governor’s Office, families should be notified when ICE comes on school campuses, and student information is protected from ICE. It also mentions that ICE agents should provide a judicial warrant for access to come onto campus.

Another recent law signed by Newsom, Senate Bill 98, also known as the Sending Alerts to Families in Education (SAFE) Act, authored by state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, would require a notice to public K-12 schools, California state universities or community colleges if immigration enforcement is coming onto campus.

“The President is not above the law, and like any other individual, must comply with court orders,” Pérez said. “I am committed to using my legislative authority to create greater protections for families sending their students back to school. I understand the deep fear families are feeling.”

Other lawmakers supported these initiatives, saying that immigration raids are an attack on American freedom.

“These new laws set important guardrails so that immigrant families can feel safe whether they are at school, at the doctor, or in their own neighborhood,” said Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, who chairs the California Latino Legislative Caucus.

The Center Square reached out to ICE to learn if there have been any ICE enforcement on school campuses, but has not received a response.