During federal anti-immigrant crackdown, San Diego schools affirm student protections

San Diego County schools Superintendent Gloria Ciriza speaks about her office s work on immigration rights Photo by Swasti Singhai Times of San Diego Six months after launching its Protecting Our Students information campaign the San Diego Unified School District disclosed that they have zero ratified reports of ICE presence on their campuses New fears of feasible immigration enforcement in schools under the Trump administration have intensified as of April when officers from the Department of Homeland Safety attempted to enter two Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools in search of students At a Thursday press conference SDUSD Interim Superintendent Fabiola Bagula emphasized the district s proactive approach to protecting their students She outlined the district s efforts which include holding four staff training sessions regarding immigration enforcement distributing informational cards on interacting with law enforcement and organizing with two local non-profit organizations to provide legal guidance to students and families through office hours at schools Richard Barrera vice president of SDUSD s Board of Training argued that the new ICE raid at South Park s Buona Forchetta located a block and a half away from a district school was an attempt to strike fear into the hearts of SDUSD families He described how parents were forced to pick up their students from the back of the school in order to shield them from what was happening nearby We don t ignore the reality that when the federal executive decides it no longer is going to have schools under safe haven status what that does is provokes fear in our communities Barrera mentioned Barrera added that the district will never ask students and families about their immigration status or allow immigration functionaries to enter the district s campuses or access scholar records without a federal judicial warrant Gloria Ciriza superintendent of schools for the San Diego County Office of Mentoring which office supports school districts mentioned her staff organized a cross-departmental club to provide immigration tools That includes a directory of available legal aid for families and districts across the county The political landscape around us may shift with debates about identity and equity being intensified Bagula noted But in the San Diego Unified School District we stand as a collective force for justice and for love and for love of students and teaching