Los Angeles school police will set up a safety perimeter around campuses and school events — including graduations — to keep federal immigration agents away from students, employees and families, school officials said Monday.
“We stand strongly on the right side of law,” Carvalho said. “Every student in our community, every student across the country, has a constitutional right to a free public education of high quality, without threat. Every one of our students, independently of their immigration status, has a right to a free meal in our schools. Every one of our children, no questions asked, has a right to counseling, social emotional support, mental support.”
Carvalho did not rule out the potential for a standoff involving school police if federal officers attempted to enter a school or an off-campus school event — such as a graduation ceremony — without a judicial warrant.
“I think that would be a preposterous condition,” Carvalho said. “But then again, we have seen preposterous actions taken recently by this administration. We are prepared for everything,” Carvalho said, adding that he’s in consultation on contingency plans with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.
It’s about time we hear about the elected officials taking their responsibilities to their constituents actually seriously.
Are the school police completely independent from the LAPD, or could they potentially get conflicting orders from the LAPD chief?
This was my immediate question
As someone who used to know a few LAPD officers, I now fear for the safety of those kids more than if the cops had stayed away.
“School Police” WTF America.
Do they really think school police will do anything whatsoever to stop the gestapo if they show up?
“In other news, numerous school police were arrested by federal agents and charged with interfering with a federal investigation when ICE agents arrested several Venezuelan gang members who were attending local graduations…”
– Tomorrow’s headlines, probably.
Or,
“In other news, ICE agents rounded up several Venezuelan gang members that were attending local events. Los Angeles School Police protested but did not otherwise have the authority or ability to interfere and stood by to ensure that the incident remained peaceful.”
It’ll be one or the other. Are LA “school police” full-time police officers, or glorified mall cops? (Serious question. I know districts where the school cops are actual local cops, and others where they’re just glorified mall cops with no real authority.) And does anyone think that a few local police (or worse, some glorified mall cops) are going to be anything more than a minor inconvenience to an ICE department that have been all-but given permission to shoot first and don’t even bother asking questions?
I mean, it’s better than nothing, but if they want to even attempt to put up serious resistance, they should be calling up the Highway Patrol or the California guard. A few local cops aren’t going to cut it.
