CA: Rumors of immigration agents near schools generate fear
Rumors of immigration agents near schools generate fear
By JULIANA BARBASSA05/06/08 18:29:32
Immigration officials on Tuesday said rumors that federal agents were seen near Berkeley and Oakland schools were unfounded. District officials said the rumors had led some parents to stay away from the schools, apparently too scared to pick up their children.
"There's no truth to it," said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We are very mindful of the sensitivity of conducting enforcement actions near schools."
Kice said federal agents did conduct routine enforcement actions in Berkeley, arresting four undocumented immigrants there, and in Oakland, where they detained one immigrant. The detentions were part of their Northern California fugitive operations program, which has made more than 800 arrests this year.
"In most cases, enforcement actions are conducted in residences, or in the place of employment," she said.
The Berkeley schools superintendent, aware of ICE sweeps within the city, had sent out a recorded message to all households in the district around noon Tuesday letting them know that immigration agents would not be allowed on campus, and would not be allowed to pick up any children.
"The message was pretty clear," said Mark Copelan, spokesman for the Berkeley Unified School District. But it may have been misinterpreted, he said, because parents soon started to call schools.
At Berkeley High School, students waited after the end of classes to get rides home from teachers, said Ashwin Ravikumar, a school district tutor.
"Students are pretty scared," Ravikumar said. "A lot of them are really, really worried about their families."
In Oakland, the reports left many parents too scared to pick up their children from school, said Angie Gonzalez, the attendance clerk at Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy.
The reports also prompted Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums to stop by Korematsu Academy when classes ended to make sure the students were safe. He told parents and advocates who gathered there that schools should be respected as places of learning and not subjected to immigration raids.
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