ICE Detains Disabled Teen Outside Los Angeles High School

The incident occurred on Monday morning when a 15-year-old student with disabilities was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outside a Los Angeles Unified School District high school while registering for classes at 9:30 am.

Reports indicate the teen was handcuffed and only released after intervention from school staff and Los Angeles police. The student body at LAUSD is predominantly Latino, with nearly 75% sharing similar profiles to the detained teen, which has raised concerns about profiling by ICE.

LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho condemned the event, stating, “The release will not undo what he experienced. The trauma will linger. It is unacceptable, not only locally but across America.”

Similarly, California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond condemned ICE’s actions, calling for an end to “military-style” operations targeting children and families near school campuses, emphasizing that students should feel safe and protected at school.

In anticipation of the upcoming school year, LAUSD has taken measures to shield students from immigration enforcement. These include deploying school police and law enforcement officers to patrol around 100 schools, establishing “safe zones” in heavily Latino neighborhoods, and adjusting bus routes to reduce exposure to ICE agents.

Community volunteers will assist in monitoring enforcement activity, alerting schools to potential threats so they can secure facilities and inform parents promptly through texts and emails.

Prior to Trump’s presidency, California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi introduced legislation aimed at preventing ICE agents from entering public schools without a judicial warrant. Although the bill is now in committee, ICE agents can still access schools if they present a warrant.