School district officials across Orange County have been preparing for a scenario they haven’t really had to deal with before: what to do if federal immigration enforcement agents show up to one of their schools?
While some have had protocols on the books for such a situation, they have been sharpening up those policies and training staff as students in Orange County start heading back to school after a summer break that saw widespread deportation raids rock the region.
Voice of OC reached out to administrators in five school districts covering Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Costa Mesa and Orange – cities that have strongly felt the impacts of the sweeps and where residents have called on city leaders to step up and support immigrant families.
Carlos Hernandez, Anaheim Union High School district’s director of Community Schools & Community & Family Engagement, said it was important for districts to prepare for ICE showing up to campus as they hear stories of families self-deporting amid increased fear and anxiety in the community.
“That’s what we’re trying to avoid, at least, to give them an opportunity to know what we are doing to ensure the safety and security of our families,” he said in a phone interview.
“Unfortunately, other superintendents may not make this a priority for their district.”
Officials in many districts say school staff would initiate a school lockdown where classrooms are locked and lessons continue if ICE shows up on campus or if there is immigration enforcement nearby.
They also say they won’t let agents in without a federal judicial warrant.
At the same time, some elected officials like State Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva are worried that the sweeps will have other impacts as families worry about leaving the house – a fear that could impact attendance, which in turn could impact district funding.
“For school districts, this could be a very big hit to their budget,” she said in a Wednesday interview.
Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy with disabilities was detained at gunpoint outside a high school in Los Angeles last week before being released causing city and district officials there to look at expanding safe passage ways to schools.
What Happens if ICE Shows Up?
Anaheim Union High School District officials say they have been spending the summer break enhancing a 2018 policy dictating how school administrators should respond if federal immigration agents show up to one of the campuses.
To view the policy, click here.
“Now what we do is we immediately go on what’s called a level two lockdown and what that means is the school shuts the perimeters of the school, the classrooms are secured and locked. Instruction continues,” Jaron Fried, the district’s assistant superintendent, said.
“That gives our office staff and our admin time to, one, verify if it’s an actual ice agent or not and then, two, if they have proper papers with them.”
Fried, who is expected to take over as superintendent at the end of the year, said if the immigration agents don’t have a warrant signed by a judge they won’t be allowed to speak to the student or staff member they are looking for.
“If they begin to become more aggressive or abrasive, then the administrator knows that they may choose to elevate to a level three lockdown,” he said.
That is the type of lockdown schools in the district follow in the event an active shooter is on campus.
If they do have a warrant, Fried said the student or staff would be brought out to the agents rather than letting the agents enter the campus.
“We’re still protecting our students in large if they have a proper court order signed document,” he said.
While the lockdown is initiated, school administrators notify the district and the local police department.
“We’ve talked to our site admin about being very proactive with doing lockdown drills to start the school year and I hate to say it, but we want to normalize, God forbid, wherever the situation there’s preparation that has taken place on how to operate under a level two or level three lockdown,” Fried said.
He adds they’re asking parents not to come to campus if a lockdown occurs as they worry that federal immigration agents might show up to schools as a tactic to draw out the adults.
Garden Grove Unified officials have also implemented a new similar lockdown procedure as their counterparts in Anaheim if there is immigration enforcement near a school campus.
Administrators there first implemented their immigration response policy in 2021 which requires school staff to document and inform the district superintendent if ICE shows up on campus or requests data.
Under the policy, school administrators can’t grant access to the agent unless they have a a federal judicial warrant or if they declare “exigent circumstances exist.”
If the immigration enforcement agent enters without permission from the school, staff is instructed not to physically stop the officer but document their actions.
To view the policy, click here.
“We value our district’s primarily immigrant families and are committed to do everything in our power to keep our families and students safe,” wrote Abby Broyles, a spokeswoman for the district, in a Friday email.
“It is our duty and our moral imperative to uphold the constitutional rights of our students to attend school freely and without fear and to ensure our families know how to protect themselves.”
Rachel Monárrez, the new superintendent at Orange Unified, said the district has had protocols in place since January in case of such a scenario and immigration agents have to show a federal judicial warrant before they could be let on campus.
She also adds that the building will be locked while instruction continues.
Monárrez said that while she was not at the district at the time the protocols were instituted many districts started to prepare after President Donald Trump was elected to office.
“Just going with what was happening at the federal level, knowing that there was going to be more targeted approaches to immigration, and knowing that the families that we serve, the children that we serve, there could be a potential need for it,” she said in a phone interview.
Fermin Leal, a spokesman for the Santa Ana Unified School District, said school administrators are directed to contact the district immediately if a federal immigration comes to campus.
“Agents are routed to the District office, and no access to non-public areas or student information is permitted without a valid judicial warrant reviewed by District legal counsel,” he wrote in an email last week.
“Our goal is to minimize disruption to instruction, keep students supervised, and communicate with families if an incident affects school operations.”
Leal said the protocol was first developed in February and staff has been regularly trained on them – sharing a training video with the Voice of OC.
Officials from Newport-Mesa Unified did not respond to multiple requests for comment and emailed questions on the issue.
According to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District website, any request by immigration agents to enter a district school should be reported to district staff.
The district adopted a Immigration Enforcement Response policy in 2019.
The policy states the superintendent will create protocols for a scenario where immigration agents show up to a campus and train staff on those procedures.
The policy does not provide details on what those protocols are exactly.
Know Your Rights Resources & Student Support
School districts are also offering immigration resources and other support to their students and their families.
Anaheim Union High School District officials have held know your rights forums for the community and a town hall last month on keeping schools safe amid the ICE raids.
Beyond that, the district has launched a webpage with immigration resources as well as a plan to help families prepare if a loved one gets taken.
They are also offering academic and mental health support for students on campus as well as connecting families to food pantries.
“When our family calls and says, I need x, y, z, we point them immediately to site staff, to the people that they have a relationship with, and we go from there,” Hernandez said.
Broyles said Garden Grove Unified has been partnering with different organizations to host Know Your Rights webinars, distributing Know Your Rights information and helping families develop an emergency plan in response to the deportation sweeps.
They also have created a hotline to help respond to families’ needs and trained staff on how to provide social emotional support to students and families struggling with immigration related challenges.
“Over the Summer, we launched a Family Helpline (714-663-6257) which now has extended hours and is staffed by bilingual community liaisons who provide connections to food, immigration assistance, mental health counseling, legal referrals, and more—in Spanish, Vietnamese, and additional languages upon request,” wrote Broyles in an email.
Monárrez said Orange Unified has launched a webpage with a variety of resources for families including Know Your Rights information and a resource handbook is being shared with school staff.
“It just shows where all these resources are,” she said. “If there’s food insecurity, here’s what you can share with the family. If they need shelter, here’s what you can share so all those things are put into this resource handbook that was pulled together by our staff really aligning to what’s already in the community.”
Leal said Santa Ana Unified offers mental health support for students. The district also has a Know Your Rights page on their website as well.
Offering Online Options
District leaders in Anaheim are also offering families who do not want to go to school right now the option to learn virtually from home or enter a hybrid educational program.
“You can imagine the fear and the anxiety of sending your student to school and not knowing if they’re going to be coming back to you if the ICE agents are out in the community. So we’ve had a few families reach out, and so we’ve developed some options,” Robert Saldivar, the district’s executive director of educational services, said in a phone interview.
One of the options is the district’s independent learning center which offers a hybrid or virtual educational program and home visits from teachers, counselors and social workers.
Officials in other districts are encouraging in person attendance but also offering virtual options in some circumstances.
Broyles said Garden Grove Unified is offering a virtual learning academy but also increasing bus options for families scared to take their kids to school.
Monárrez said in-person learning is really important for students but there is an option for people to temporarily enroll into their virtual academy .
“They can do a 15-day, short term independent study where they would do some learning at home, not the ideal, but for some families, that might be just enough for them to feel comfortable. So we are going to give them options, but we’re really going to try to encourage them to bring their children to school,” she said.
Leal said the district can work with families on short-term independent study in limited circumstances on a case by case basis reviewed by principals and counselors.
Meanwhile, officials in Anaheim Union High School District – who say they have one of the strongest protocols in place in OC – are worried that other districts are not planning for ICE coming to campus as thoroughly as they are.
Salidivar said he hopes other districts in the county will follow the lead they have set.
“I can’t imagine how many families are out there … feeling paralyzed and not knowing who to turn to in terms of their son or daughter’s education,” he said in a phone interview.
Fried agreed.
“I don’t think there’s another district doing what we do,” he said.
“I think we’re way out in front even in this work.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.