Officials warn of fake ICE agents as students continue walk-outs in Southern California
An Instagram account created to organize Thursday's walk-out wrote in a post that SAMOHI students are protesting 'the Trump Administration's reactionary far right policies.'
'We are walking out with four other schools, Malibu, Culver, Venice, and University, to demand that our cities and school administrations fight to protect our education as well as vulnerable migrant and LGBTQ+ students,' said the post.
As the protests continue, concerns are growing about fake law enforcement or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reported in Los Angeles.
'This has the effect of generating fear within our communities,' said Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho in a notice posted to X on Wednesday evening. 'Please be advised that falsely impersonating a local, state, or federal agency or law enforcement official is illegal.'
'The District stands in strong condemnation of those who would seek to intimidate or disrupt those in and around our schools and will work in partnership with school police and law enforcement partners to address any and all violations targeted against our school communities,' Carvalho's statement continued to say.
Schools in the L.A. area have been handing out 'Know Your Rights' cards, which let students know their legal protections if approached by a legitimate agent with ICE.
KTLA's Kimberly Cheng was out front of SAMOHI on Thursday afternoon as the protests began, and as she was interviewing a student on live television, a protestor spoke over a projection, organizing the group to get ready to head to City Hall.
Minutes later, Sky5 was overhead and could see what appeared to be hundreds of students in downtown Los Angeles on day three of student protests and day five of mass deportations protests overall.
'I personally have family members who are immigrants and fought for my rights to be here, so we have every right to be here and he shouldn't be sending anybody back,' one SAMOHI student told KTLA. 'I don't think that Trump understands all the work that immigrants do.'
One of the other dozens of students seen outside SAMOHI told KTLA 'I'm marching out today to help everybody that I love, these are all my people.'
Some students and parents who stand in support of those protesting the president's immigration policies said they are also marching out for other reasons, such as to protest rollbacks of environmental safety procedures and to stand in support of transgender rights.
On Sunday, a massive protest formed in downtown Los Angeles in response to Trump's crackdown on immigration and emphasis on deportations, where protestors were on and off the 101 Freeway and on surface streets well into the evening.
In the days that followed, 'Day Without Immigrants' protests continued to take place and occasionally affected traffic in the city.
Officials urge those participating in protests to keep them peaceful and to avoid such major roadways for their safety.
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