The LAUSD Board of Education made a symbolic show of support for those seeking refuge in the U.S. by passing this week a resolution condemning the Biden administration’s “de facto federal asylum ban.”
Although Title 42 — the Trump-era law that limited legal avenues for asylum seekers and resulted in 2.8 million deportations — is no longer in place, board members say immigration policies remain too restrictive.
“Many of us hoped that a more effective, humane and compassionate policy would supplant Title 42 … and that our migrant youth and families could begin the difficult work of rebuilding their lives,” said Board Member Kelly Gonez, who authored the resolution approved by the board on Tuesday, June 13. “Instead, the federal government replaced Title 42 policies with similar equally harmful restrictions that violate the temporary protected status of migrant asylum seekers and their right to due process.”
The resolution calls for a more compassionate approach to immigration laws as well as continued support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects undocumented people who came to the U.S. as children. It asks Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and the district’s Office of Government Affairs to advocate for these policies at a federal level.
The resolution was passed by all members, save for Board Member George McKenna who abstained from voting after expressing frustration that the resolution offered few tangible steps for change.
“I’m not certain that we have taken the necessary time to fully think through and articulate the right or appropriate ask for advocacy on this issue,” McKenna said. “I don’t think the language here offers a solution, it’s another position which is political and has no teeth in it.”
LAUSD has taken several steps to protect its immigrant community. They include opening an Immigrant Family Resource Center at the Robert F. Kennedy Community of Schools, passing a policy that…
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