California schools could be required to warn students, families about immigration enforcement
California schools might be required to warn students and parents if federal immigration agents arrived on campus under a bill introduced this week.
The measure, authored by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, is a response to a new directive from President Donald Trump’s administration. The mandate removes yearslong restrictions that have prevented U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from conducting operations at schools and other “sensitive places.”
Five Quaker groups have since filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security over the new policy.
Under Pérez’s bill, schools and college campuses would notify students, parents, faculty and staff if immigration officers are present. The emergency alert system would work similarly to those used in active shooter situations and immediately send out emails and text messages.
“This really presents a threat to our young people, to our students, and we have to do everything that we can to protect them and to make sure that their families and parents are informed about what’s happening while they’re in school,” Pérez said.
Approximately 272,000 undocumented students are enrolled in California public schools or colleges, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were no confirmed reports of immigration officers at U.S. schools or colleges since Trump took office. A Chicago school district mistakenly reported immigration agents attempted to enter a school last Friday.
Earlier this week, Tom Homan, the director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement defended the administration’s change in policy for sensitive places. He argued that no other law enforcement agency is held to such a standard.
“When the circumstances arise, we get a national threat or significant public safety threat, we’re going to go where we got to, whether it’s a school, church or hospital,” Homan said on CNN on Monday.
Pérez said the potential of enforcement at schools has “nothing to do with public safety.” Increased deportation enforcement leads to higher anxiety and fear among immigrant youth, according to The National Institutes of Health.
“It has everything to do with furthering violence against immigrant communities and attempting to scare and fear-monger people,” Pérez said.
Pérez is exploring the potential of an urgency bill, which take effect after Gov. Gavin Newsom signs it. She does not anticipate fiscal costs with her bill, given that the state already has emergency warning systems.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 2:17 PM with the headline "California schools could be required to warn students, families about immigration enforcement."
