Just one week before LAUSD students return to school, teachers across Los Angeles stepped out to the streets to demand stronger protections for immigrant students and their families.
Hundreds of educators with United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) flooded downtown LA, waving signs, chanting and demanding action from the school district.
“As educators, we’re obligated to be there for our families and our communities. And we’re here at the district headquarters just to make that statement,” said David de La Cruz, an educator.
Teachers at the rally described how fear has seeped into the daily lives of many students
“We’re coming off a summer of terror. Students have been in their homes, not coming out into the neighborhoods. I want to make sure that they are back in school,” said Alex Orzoco. “We want to make sure that they feel they can return to some normalcy.”
At the heart of the rally was a simple message: protection can’t be symbolic, it needs to be policy.
“We need for the district to provide safe campuses, make sure that all the students are returning, and have access to safe passage to and from schools,” said Orozco.
In a statement to NBCLA, an LAUSD spokesperson said in part:
“We will never abdicate our professional and moral responsibility. Every child in our care is protected. Every child’s rights are upheld.”
The first day of school is August 12. But for many teachers, the fight to protect their students has already started.
“We love them. We are here for them. We are going to do everything we can to ensure that the first day of school and every day thereafter, it’s going to be safe,” said Orozco.
Out of 557,352 LAUSD students, about 30,000 of those are immigrants and 7,500 are undocumented, according to LAUSD and UTLA.
In early June, at the start of the ICE raids in Los Angeles, LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvahlo set up security-like perimeters at every graduation ceremony site to protect students and their families.
The Department of Homeland Security said 2,792 undocumented immigrants were arrested in the LA area, with the most arrests happening between June 6 and June 22.
