LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho discusses immigration raids in new school year speech: LAUSD 'will not stand for injustice'
In his annual "Opening of Schools" speech, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho addressed recent federal immigration raids and vowed that the LAUSD "will not stand for injustice."
Carvalho told the crowd that as a teenager, he came to the United States undocumented and that he knows what it's like to live in fear.
"Let me be clear, Los Angeles Unified will not stand for injustice. Los Angeles Unified will not stand by while fear walks through our neighborhoods cloaked as policy," he said.
L.A. Unified School Board President Scott Schmerelson also spoke at the event.
"Our communities are under an unprecedented attack that few of us imagine possible," he said.
Schmerelson acknowledged the stress levels that many students are facing heading into the new 2025-26 school year.
"I know that many of our hearts are heavy and yet, I do know that when we return, we will return with the same if not a stronger commitment to ensure that our students can learn in a safe environment that are our schools. I also know that we will do everything in our power to ensure that their path to school is safe," he added.
"My kid is a white kid, so they won't go after her, but many of her friends are Latina or Filipino - they're not white kids, so yeah we're concerned for her friends' safety," said LAUSD parent Mark Rivers.
"There is concerns about that, but other than us getting calls from the school, it is nerve racking the first days I believe, but hopefully nothing like that happens. And we keep it safe and it's all civil and we don't have to worry about any of that," said LAUSD parent Lizeth Rodriguez.
Carvalho also talked about the steps the district is taking to enhance its disaster preparedness since the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire - including new air quality sensors.
