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DHS mistakenly detains teen: LAUSD
Homeland Security is accused of mistakenly detaining a teen outside school in Arleta, California.
LOS ANGELES - Amid fears of federal immigration enforcement, Los Angeles Unified School District officials announced new measures to ensure students can travel to and from school safely.
Dig deeper:
The 2025-26 school year is set to start on Thursday, August 14. During a press conference Monday afternoon, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the district will update policies, adjust bus routes, deploy staff and volunteers, and form a task force to reassure students and families.
The district has mailed and emailed "family preparedness packs" to households, which will also be sent home with students on the first day of school. The packets include information on rights, resources, LAUSD's "compassion fund" and how to update emergency contacts. They have also been distributed to city partners, libraries and district employees.
For families reluctant to leave their homes due to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, Carvalho encouraged enrollment in LAUSD's virtual academies, which allow students to take online classes from anywhere with internet access. Parents and guardians can contact schools, principals or counselors for information on transportation and virtual programs.
On the first day of school, more than 1,000 employees will be stationed in "critical areas" identified as high priority due to ICE activity. LAUSD will partner with labor and community groups to provide volunteers who will serve as a visible presence and report ICE operations near campuses.
Emergency crisis teams will also walk with students and families or make home visits when needed.
15-year-old student mistakenly detained
Local perspective:
On Monday morning, while a student was enrolling at Arleta High School, U.S. Border Patrol agents detained a 15-year-old boy who was waiting in a vehicle with his grandmother, according to Carvalho.
"This young man was placed in handcuffs, presumably based on mistaken identity. He was not an adult. He's a 15-year-old boy with significant disabilities," Carvalho said. "This cannot happen."
Carvalho said the district's protocols worked as the principal of Arleta called the School Police Department and the young man was later released.
"The release will not release him from what he experienced. The trauma will linger. It will not cease. It is unacceptable," Carvalho said.
Carvalho went on to explain that federal agents left bullets on the ground.
"That example says all we need to know about why these actions should not be taking place around schools, bullets on the ground. What else do we need beyond the trauma? What else do we need mistaken identity? How about encounters with children with profound disabilities who are non-communicative? Have we thought about that?
Carvalho said fear is running so deep in many Latino communities that he worries it could drive down school enrollment.
"We are concerned about the first, second, third weeks of school. We do not know what the enrollment will be like. We know many parents may have already left our community. They may have self-deported. We don't know what that will be, and that can be somewhat disruptive this school year," Carvalho explained.
What they're saying:
The DHS released the following statement in response:
"Allegations that Border Patrol targeted Arleta High School are FALSE. Agents were conducting a targeted operation on [undocumented immigrant] Cristian Alexander Vasquez-Alvarenga - a Salvadoran national and suspected MS-13 pledge with prior criminal convictions in the broader vicinity of Arleta."
The Source: Information for this story came from a press conference held August 11, 2025 by LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.