(The Center Square) – Los Angeles schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho this week delivered a passionate speech stressing the protection of schoolchildren from immigration raids.
“My friends, across the district, schools have endured something no one in a community should have to withstand, weeks of immigration raids, helicopters overhead, militarized vehicles in our streets, uniformed agents near school gates and graduations …” Carvalho told Los Angeles Unified School District staff and students during his address before the start of the 2025-26 school year.
“Still, you showed up. Our educators showed up,” Carvalho said inside a packed Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. “You kept hearts steady while uncertainty knocked loudly outside.”
The Center Square reached out Wednesday to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to comment on Carvalho’s speech, but did not get an immediate response.
Carvalho made his points Tuesday during a two-hour multimedia program in an auditorium that’s home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The presentation featured slides, videos, and vocal and instrumental performances by students from the nation’s second largest school district.
Bands from Banning and Bell high schools marched together onto the stage. Mariachi students performed the national anthem, and a young girl sang a solo. Later, an a cappella choir of students sang “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked.”
While much of his talk focused on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests, Carvalho praised the district staff’s response during the January wildfires.
And he noted students are performing in the classroom better than ever, as shown by the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
For the first time, 11th-grade students exceeded the standard in literacy, the superintendent noted. And double-digit growth was seen by students in all subjects and grade levels, he said, adding that students have exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels.
“Let’s remember that, despite the many challenges we have faced, we’ve also seen significant progress,” LAUSD board President Scott Schmerelson told the audience before Carvalho’s speech. “Our graduation rates continue to increase, as has our students’ achievement.”
Like Carvalho, Schmerelson acknowledged this year’s series of ICE arrests.
“As we return to schools to prepare for the new school year, we know many of our students are facing unprecedented stress levels,” Schmerelson said. “Some fear their loved ones may not even be home when they return.”
Schmerelson said the district will distribute “Know your rights” cards to students and train staff on how to respond to potential ICE enforcement.
“We know every child has a constitutional right to a quality education, regardless of their immigration status,” Schmerelson said. “Our schools are a safe haven where our students can learn without fear. That is our guiding light.”
Two laws — California Values Act, also known as Senate Bill 54, and Assembly Bill 699 — restrict school personnel from assisting ICE in immigration enforcement without a court order.
Carvalho praised two principals for denying entry in April to Homeland Security officers, who were not ICE agents, at Lillian Street and Russell elementary schools in South Los Angeles. Homeland Security spokespersons later said the department officers were conducting wellness checks on children who arrived alone at the Mexico-U.S. border. The department said the visit had nothing to do with immigration enforcement.
