Why this matters
The Trump administration has rescinded guidelines that previously limited immigration enforcement actions at what were considered sensitive areas, including schools.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested a parent outside of an elementary school in Chula Vista Wednesday morning as families dropped off students for the school day, according to the school district.
The arrest happened just weeks into the new school year on a “public roadway” near Enrique S. Camarena Elementary school in east Chula Vista, Giovanna Castro, a spokesperson for Chula Vista Elementary School District, told inewsource.
Immigration officials have been accelerating arrests in recent weeks under President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda. Earlier this year, his administration rolled back a policy that once limited ICE activity at schools and other sensitive locations.
Multiple district officials said this was the first they’ve heard of ICE activity around Chula Vista schools.
The district’s superintendent, Eduardo Reyes, sent an email to parents notifying them of the arrest and the district’s policy for handling interactions with law enforcement.
“We understand this may cause concern, and we want to reassure you that our schools remain safe spaces,” Reyes said in the letter.
ICE officials did not immediately respond to questions from inewsource about the person who was arrested and whether officers had a warrant.
By Wednesday afternoon, news of the arrest had reached some parents who came to pick up their children from school. Most who talked to inewsource said they were surprised to hear of the arrest. Some expressed more concern about the incident.
One grandparent who did not want to be named said he felt “sorry” for the family of the person arrested.
“You come to drop off your kids at school and it could be the last day,” he said.
Another parent of two Camarena students who was pushing a stroller into school that afternoon said she was scared by the news. She said she is a U.S. citizen, but she’s worried about immigration officials stopping her because she is Mexican.
Zach Rhoads, who came to pick up his son that afternoon, read the email from the superintendent aloud to his wife earlier in the day. He said he was encouraged by the district’s response and that the arrest didn’t happen inside the school campus.
Rhoads isn’t worried about immigration enforcement affecting his family, but said “we definitely feel for the people that do have to go through that.”
ICE officials in San Diego have been increasing arrests recently, mostly of people who have no criminal records, only immigration violations.
Wednesday’s arrest wasn’t the first ICE incident near a school in San Diego County recently.
In June, two parents returning home after dropping off their child at Laurel Elementary in Oceanside were pulled over by ICE officials in SUVs. The father was handcuffed and arrested, Voice of San Diego reported.
Immigration advocates have criticized Trump’s rollback of the sensitive locations policy, saying it will lead parents fearful of immigration enforcement to keep their kids home from school.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta released guidance earlier this year for schools to prepare for potential immigration enforcement on campuses. School districts across the country have released their own policies for handling interactions and requests from immigration officials and pledged to keep their schools safe for students.
“The Chula Vista Elementary School District is committed to supporting every student, regardless of immigration status, and our highest priorities are our students’ safety, education, and well-being,” Castro wrote in an email to inewsource.
