Federal agents lied to school staffers at two Los Angeles elementary schools about having permission from students' families to speak with them, according to a pair of Democratic lawmakers.
Two U.S. senators said officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement told them that agents had misled school staffers as they attempted what they described as "welfare checks" on students in grades one through six at Russell Elementary School and Lillian Street Elementary School.
They were turned away after administrators checked with district leadership and legal counsel, reported K-12 Dive.
“When we spoke, we informed you that reports indicated that, while attempting to enter the schools, HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] officers falsely told school staff that they received permission from the families to speak with their children,” said Sens. Alex Padilla, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Border Security and Immigration Subcommittee, and Adam Schiff in an April 18 letter to acting HSI executive associate director Robert Hammer.
“You informed us that you were unfamiliar with those details and would look into the matter,” the senators added. “We would like to understand what steps you are taking to review and address your agents’ conduct, including determining why they said they received permission to speak with children from their families when that was not the case.”
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The agents left “without incident” after school officials refused to share information about the children without a court order or warrant, according to homeland security officials.
“Though the agents were purportedly there to conduct a ‘welfare check’ on the children, their actions instead terrorized hundreds of thousands of students across Los Angeles and undermine public trust,” the senators wrote.
Padilla and Schiff asked the agency to respond by May 2 and asked for an end to similar actions on school grounds.
The April 7 incidents were the first known attempts by ICE to enter school grounds after the Trump administration changed Department of Homeland Security policy to allow immigration raids at schools, hospitals and churches.