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Living in deportation’s shadow: How one Los Angeles charter school grapples with immigration enforcement
Every time Ana Ponce drives down the highway between Los Angeles and San Diego, she’s haunted by a childhood memory: her night in lockup — the sterile white room, the sounds of crying, and the fear she might be lost. Born in Mexico, Ponce moved to the U.S. when she was 4, and, even as...
By Mark Keierleber | August 20, 2018
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Anxiety looms for thousands of migrant teachers as Trump administration pushes ‘zero tolerance’ enforcement of visa program
Pedro Terán knew what he was getting into. Terán, 33, was living in Saltillo, Mexico, two years ago when his sister posted an ad on Facebook that said the Dallas Independent School District was looking for teachers. The district had sent recruiters to Monterrey, about an hour from Terán’s home, to find educators to help...
By Mario Koran | July 16, 2018
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Does the March 5 DACA deadline still matter? 5 things to know about a meaningless Monday — and why Dreamers should still be worried
All eyes have been on March 5 since the Trump administration announced last September that in six months it would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has provided work permits and deportation relief to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. That timeline, the Trump...
By Mark Keierleber | March 4, 2018
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Los Angeles DACA students who will be in the audience at Trump’s State of the Union address are hoping to ‘really get at their hearts’
*Updated Jan. 30 Two young DACA recipients from Los Angeles will be guests at Tuesday’s State of the Union address, sitting with House Democrats and hoping to hear President Trump announce a permanent solution for them and their families to remain together in this country. The two young women are part of a delegation of...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | January 29, 2018
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
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Los Angeles Dreamers march on D.C., joining hundreds of undocumented youth in demanding Congress pass Dream Act this week
*Updated Jan. 17 Los Angeles’ Luis Tadeo sent his DACA renewal application Tuesday from Washington, D.C., where he and 30 other California undocumented youth have gathered with an urgent goal: Get Congress to pass a “clean” Dream Act by Friday. Tadeo traveled with a group of Californians, mostly college students, organized by the Coalition for...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | January 16, 2018
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Know your rights: California education advocates want to make sure you know you can stay in school
Undocumented students are missing school. Parents aren’t showing up to school events. College students aren’t re-enrolling. Discrimination complaints are exploding. As DACA protections come to an end, California education advocates are redoubling their efforts to make sure immigrant families know their rights and students continue their schooling. They are also stepping up pressure on Congress...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | November 29, 2017
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Far fewer undocumented students are applying for financial aid to attend California colleges— advocates cite fear and the end of DACA
*UPDATE: (New data released Nov. 21 to LA School Report show that the number of applications has increased to 46,568, which is only 4 percent below last year’s figure.) The number of undocumented students in California applying for financial aid for college has dropped 20 percent this year, which advocates say is a direct result of...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | November 15, 2017
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‘College is possible’ — LAUSD teacher who is undocumented encourages Latino parents to help their children persevere
As an undocumented student in her San Bernardino high school, Maria Lopez Lozano was told by her school counselor she couldn’t go to college. She went anyway, graduated from UC Irvine, and now teaches in LA Unified. As a “DACAmented” teacher — as she called herself for being undocumented and a DACA recipient — she...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | November 2, 2017
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Commentary: Forging alliances to protect families and fight fear in Los Angeles
When my parents moved our family here, I knew it was their dream to come to the United States to provide a better life for my siblings and myself. At the time, I couldn’t put that into context. As an 11-year-old kid, far away from our home in Guatemala, all that consumed me was the...
By Oscar Cruz | October 31, 2017
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LAUSD board members unite with Democratic leaders to support passage of the DREAM Act
“DACA is dead. The Dream Act is a permanent solution for us, and that’s what we’re fighting for now,” said Paulina, an LA Unified graduate from Fremont High School and a DACA recipient who met on Wednesday with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, LA Unified board members, and business and community leaders in Los Angeles...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | October 18, 2017