New California bill demands transparency of ICE activity at schools

On Tuesday, the California Legislature approved a measure mandating that schools establish procedures to inform parents and educators when immigration authorities are present on campus.

Guadalupe Carrasco Cardona, a teacher in the Los Angeles school district, emphasized the importance of this bill, stating that no one should have to live in constant fear of immigration enforcement. She also stressed that students should not be exposed to racial profiling or violence, especially near sacred spaces like schools. “We're very much in favor of this bill, and we hope that it does pass,” she said.

The bill would also require California universities and community colleges to send alerts to students, faculty and staff when immigration enforcement is present. The next step for the bill is that it now goes to Governor Gavin Newsom, who has until October 12 to sign it into law. If enacted, the legislation would remain in effect through 2031.

Cardona told CALÓ News that she’s glad the new bill also applies to higher education, noting a key difference between K-12 and college campuses. “Unlike K-12 campuses, which have fencing and can be easily locked down, CSUs and community colleges are largely open campuses,” she said. “That kind of communication will be even more critical so that people know when to stay inside, whether in classrooms or lecture halls. If people are informed when there's ICE in the vicinity, then they can act accordingly and lock the doors and continue to learn and continue to do what they need to do and not be disrupted by that violence.”

The Legislature also advanced bills banning immigration enforcement from entering nonpublic areas of school or hospital grounds without a warrant as a way to protect individuals and families  from Trump's aggressive immigration crackdowns.

As the new school year began last month, Los Angeles Unified officials called on immigration authorities to avoid carrying out enforcement actions near school campuses during the school day. The school district, which is the country’s second-largest, includes approximately 30,000 immigrant students, an estimated quarter of whom are without legal status, according to the teachers’ union.

Cardona, who serves as the chair of the Association of Raza Educators and is a member of both the Community Self-Defense Coalition and Unión del Barrio, begins each day at 5 a.m. patrolling alongside other community members and organizers in areas known to be hotspots for immigration operations.

Just last month, federal immigration agents detained 15-year-old Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz at gunpoint outside a Los Angeles high school, a case that has drawn widespread outrage in the city.

She also shared that since January, they’ve been conducting educator training that initially began as a local effort for teachers in Southern California. However, it quickly grew into a national movement, with educators from across the country, including New York, Kentucky, Atlanta, Georgia and many other regions, beginning to join their Zoom calls. 

“We have gone to different locations as well to talk about ways to organize and use the structures that have worked to make sure that kids get from their home to either the school or to the bus and then from the bus to the actual classroom. We really want to ensure that they do not have any disruption and that they're able to get to class,” Cardona said. “It's been a very powerful thing, seeing educators spend their own time trying to organize and protect students, and I'm very proud of that.”

The Association of Raza Educators, in conjunction with Union del Barrio, has done thousands of training sessions with teachers, and now those teachers are going into their school districts and organizing and implementing plans to protect their students. Cardona describes this national teacher movement as a beautiful call to action. “This new bill is going to be life-saving. I'm really hoping it gets all of the support that it needs to pass,” she said.