Teachers across Los Angeles call for protections for immigrant students
LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Just one week before Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students return to school, teachers across L.A. stepped out to the streets to demand stronger protections for immigrant students and their families.
The school bells haven't rung yet, but the fight for student safety has already begun.
Hundreds of educators with United Teachers of Los Angeles flooded the streets, waving signs, chanting and demanding action to protect immigrant students and their families.
"As educators, we're obligated to be there for our families and our communities. And we're here at the district headquarters just to make that statement," said David de la Cruz, a teacher.
Teachers at the rally described how fear has seeped into the daily lives of many students.
"We're coming off a summer of terror. Students have been in their homes, not coming out into the neighborhoods. I want to make sure that they are back in school. We want to make sure that they feel they can return to some normalcy," said Alex Orzoco, another teacher.
At the heart of the rally was a simple message: Protection can't be symbolic. It needs to be policy.
"We need for the district to provide safe campuses, make sure that all the students are returning, and have access to safe passage to and from schools," Orzoco expressed.
In a statement, an LAUSD spokesperson said in part, "We will never abdicate our professional and moral responsibility. Every child in our care is protected. Every child's rights are upheld."
The first day of school is August 12, but for many teachers, the fight to protect their students has already started.
"We love them. We are here for them. We are going to do everything we can to ensure that the first day of school and every day thereafter, it's going to be safe," Orzoco spoke.
