LA Schools Chief Urges Superintendents Nationwide to Shield Students from ICE: 'Choose Hope'

As federal immigration raids escalate across Southern California, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has issued a bold national appeal to his colleagues across the country. In a deeply personal essay, the head of the nation's second-largest school system urged education leaders to stand united in protecting students from fear and intimidation brought on by recent ICE activity near schools.

The letter, published in Time Magazine and titled "We Can Choose Fear. Or We Can Choose Hope," is both a personal testimony and a political statement. It arrives amid massive anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, where the National Guard and federal agents have deployed in response to unrest following workplace raids, residential arrests, and reports of immigration agents patrolling near schools and graduation venues.

Carvalho, born in Portugal and once an undocumented immigrant himself, used his platform to issue a call to conscience: "No preschooler, no first grader, no high school sophomore on their way to class poses any risk to the national security of the United States," he wrote. "And yet, the response we are seeing looks more like a military operation than an immigration process."

"I became an educator because I believe in the promise of public education. And I became a superintendent to protect it." In a stirring reminder of his own experience, he shares: "As a former undocumented immigrant, I know this fear. I have felt it... uncertainty of whether a knock at the door meant separation from everything I loved."

In the letter, he details the current atmosphere in Los Angeles: ICE vehicles—including vans and unmarked cars—have appeared near schools, sometimes setting up checkpoints or questioning parents and students. National Guard troops and Marines have also entered neighborhoods amid mass protests and raids after June 6,

In response, LAUSD has deployed its own school police to establish protective "safe zones" around campuses, stadiums, and graduation events, including more than 100 ceremonies planned this week.

"No action has been taken, but we interpret those actions as actions of intimidation," Carvalho contends, warning that such tactics can drive "self-deportation" and disrupt an environment where students should feel secure . He underscores the role of schools: not just for education, but as community anchors providing food, mental health support, counseling, and stability.

Citing Supreme Court precedent affirming every child's constitutional right to a free public education, he asserts unequivocally: "Los Angeles Unified schools are—and will remain—safe and welcoming spaces for every child, regardless of immigration status... No child should miss school because of fear."

At a June 9 press conference, Carvalho, head of the nation's second-largest school system, outlined a sweeping security plan for more than 100 graduation events—and encouraged his colleagues nationwide to adopt similar protective measures. He said school police have been instructed to form "perimeters of safety" around campuses, graduation venues, buses, and bus stops, ready to intervene should ICE personnel appear.

Carvalho's emotional appeal draws on his personal experience as a former undocumented immigrant: "I'll put my job on the line to protect a 5‑year‑old, an 11th grader or a soon‑to‑be graduate: 'Come after me. Don't go after my kids' "