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Immigration agents inside schools? Why some activists are warning undocumented students about Trump’s policy shifts
This is the second article in a series produced in collaboration with The Guardian examining the climate affecting immigrant school children and their parents as the new school year begins. See a version of this article at TheGuardian.com. One student exchanged hand gestures with a classmate in the school hallway. Another drew graffiti in his...
By Mark Keierleber | August 24, 2017
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New California sanctuary schools coalition is taking an ‘extra step’ to protect undocumented students and their families
There are sanctuary cities, sanctuary states, and school district safe zones. Now a group of Los Angeles public schools and community organizations have created a Sanctuary Schools coalition that guarantees protections for undocumented students and their families through formal school policies. The new group, California Schools Are Sanctuaries (CASAS), is the first of its kind...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | August 23, 2017
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As immigrant students worry about a new school year, districts and educators unveil plans to protect their safety (and privacy)
This is the first article in a series produced in collaboration with The Guardian examining the climate affecting immigrant schoolchildren and their parents as the new school year begins. See a version of this article at TheGuardian.com. If federal immigration agents come knocking, don’t open the door. You have the right to plead the Fifth Amendment and...
By Mark Keierleber | August 23, 2017
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10 ways to be safe: What LAUSD is telling immigrant families in its new ‘We Are One’ resource guide
Don’t open the door. Know your rights. Make an emergency plan for when a family member is detained. LA Unified wants you to know that it “stands with immigrant families.” The new school year started Tuesday with big banners with the image of the Statue of Liberty and the “We Are One LA Unified” campaign’s...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | August 21, 2017
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Deportation order ends for LA father who was arrested outside his daughter’s school
The deportation order for a Los Angeles father, Romulo Avelica-González, has been removed by the Board of Immigration Appeals and he could be released by the end of the month. His attorney, Alan Diamante, said Avelica-González still has a pending immigration case that has been returned to a local immigration court, including his pending U...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | August 11, 2017
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LAUSD pledges to stand with immigrant families, launching new campaign and resource guides
The nation’s second-largest school district will start a new school year next week “standing with immigrant families,” which it signaled Tuesday with a new website and guides that pull together resources for immigrant students and their families. Superintendent Michelle King used her annual “State of the District” address Tuesday to unveil the “We are one...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | August 8, 2017
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JUST IN: Father arrested by ICE agents outside his daughter’s school avoids deportation, for now
Romulo Avelica-González, an undocumented immigrant and Los Angeles father who could have been deported to Mexico on Monday, was granted an “emergency stay of removal” by the Board of Immigration Appeals on Monday morning. Avelica-González, 49, will not be deported until the board reviews his case, according to his attorney, Alan Diamante. Avelica-González was arrested...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | August 7, 2017
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Raids targeting undocumented youth net up to 16 arrests in LA; activists call Trump support for slashing legal immigration ‘dangerous’
Los Angeles activists decried as “dangerous” new support by the Trump Administration for slashing legal immigration, which came on the heels of news of arrests in Los Angeles during raids targeting undocumented youth. Federal officials announced Tuesday that as many as 120 undocumented immigrant youth who had entered the country illegally as unaccompanied minors were...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | August 2, 2017
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New DREAM Act bill raises hope among DACA educators for undocumented students
The introduction of a new Dream Act that aims to permanently legalize undocumented youth who came to the country as children sparked optimism among DACA educators in Los Angeles. The new bill presented to Congress on Thursday is even more generous than DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — because it offers a path...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | July 21, 2017
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Los Angeles DREAMers say new federal statement on DACA only heightens their fears
Although the Trump administration announcement that protections for young “DREAMers” under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will continue for now, Los Angeles immigrants and their advocates believe the risk of being deported is even greater. The DACA news came in an announcement late Thursday by National Security Secretary John Kelly as he declared...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | June 16, 2017