On their first week back from summer break, some teachers at Lincoln High School welcomed students by handing out "know-your-rights" fliers.
Written in both English and Spanish, the fliers tell people what to do if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents try to arrest immigrants near schools.
Rene Zambrano, a Lincoln High School teacher and member of the San Diego immigrant advocacy group Unión del Barrio, recruited a few students to distribute fliers Tuesday morning while he spoke to concerned parents dropping off their kids.
“Let me give you some information, we’re doing some awareness against ICE,” Zambrano told a dad driving a mini van. “We want to tell the community that it’s safe to come to school.”
Unión del Barrio and another local group, the Association of Raza Educators, trained approximately 100 teachers over the summer break. This comes as demand for know-your-rights information is high — especially after ICE agents detained parents near schools in Chula Vista and Linda Vista earlier this month.
After the Linda Vista arrest, San Diego Unified District superintendent Fabiola Bagula criticized federal immigration enforcement near schools.
“Let me be clear: Our schools and our neighborhoods that surround them should be off limits to enforcement actions like this.”
News reports show similar arrests near schools in Oregon, Texas, Illinois and South Carolina.
Concerned among activists about school arrests has grown ever since the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era policy that protected certain areas like schools, churches and hospitals from immigration enforcement.
In recent emails to KPBS, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the arrests of parents near school San Diego area campuses, but maintains agents are not actively targeting schools.
In response to community concern over recent ICE actions, Unión del Barrio and Association of Raza Educators are launching “teacher patrols” throughout San Diego. The patrols involve volunteers driving around campuses looking for undercover ICE agents and teachers welcoming students outside of schools.
Erendira Ramirez, a local teacher and member of Raza Educators, said volunteers are trained to document ICE sightings and alert the community so people who are afraid of getting arrested can avoid the area.
She criticized arrests near schools.
“That’s unacceptable,” she said.
In January, the SDUSD passed a resolution stating staff will not help ICE enforce federal immigration law and won’t allow access to school facilities unless federal agents have a warrant.
The district’s website has links to resources available to immigrant students and their families, including what to do in case there’s a deportation in the family.
In a statement Tuesday, a San Diego Unified spokesperson said educators in the district can volunteer with immigrant rights groups in their free time. The statement went on the say the following:
"Specifically, as it relates to interacting with immigration enforcement officers during the school day, educators have been advised for their personal and legal safety not to intervene."
