Over 1,000 Los Angeles teachers have been trained to conduct "ICE patrols" — walking routes around schools before the first bell and after dismissal, scanning for unmarked SUVs and officers in tactical attire, then posting all-clear signals to families on Instagram.
The operation is organized through Unión del Barrio and the Community Self-Defense Coalition, a network of more than 80 organizations across LA County. Training sessions run every Saturday at the United Teachers Los Angeles building at 3303 Wilshire Boulevard, 10th floor. Ron Gochez, a history teacher at Dr. Maya Angelou Community Senior High in South LA, is one of the lead organizers. "This is not business as usual," Gochez told LAist. "The kids have suffered tremendously."
The patrols work like this: volunteers circle campuses looking for signs of ICE presence — unmarked vehicles staging nearby, officers in tactical vests. When they spot something, they relay alerts through Instagram and directly to school principals, who can trigger shelter-in-place protocols and reroute bus lines.
Guadalupe Carrasco Cardona, an English language development coordinator at Edward R. Roybal Learning Center and a UTLA member, is among those participating. "Our students are why we exist as educators," Cardona said. "We owe them more than an education." Ingrid Villeda, a teacher at 93rd Street Elementary in South LA, was more direct: "We need everyone out, and we need everyone ready to record federal agents."
The students those educators say they exist to serve are, according to the most recent state assessment data, majority below grade level. Only 40% of LAUSD's more than 500,000 students scored proficient or above in math. Roughly 48% reached proficiency in English Language Arts. The union deploying a thousand teachers as a federal surveillance network is the same union that negotiates their classroom conditions.
California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond — who is also running for governor in 2026, a fact worth noting when evaluating his press conferences — declared: "We don't want our families to be afraid to come to school despite the fear of deportation consequences. We stand with them." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass went further: "We were protecting children from their federal government. That is an atrocious abuse of power."
No elected Democrat in Los Angeles has held a press conference about the math scores.
The Community Self-Defense Coalition's own training materials warn participants against "attempts to physically impede officers," noting that doing so risks "detention or arrest." A training manual that has to include a reminder against obstructing federal law enforcement has already described what the operation is for.
At least 100 schools now have district-organized watch zones. Four ICE sightings were reported on the first day of school alone. The LAUSD superintendent has said federal agents will not be allowed on campus without a warrant. Sacramento is pushing legislation to block ICE access to campus data without judicial approval. The entire apparatus — from the union hall to the statehouse — is pointed at one objective: making it harder for federal immigration law to be enforced.
A 15-year-old was detained by immigration agents at Arleta High School during the first week. LAUSD called it mistaken identity. DHS said it was a targeted operation tied to alleged gang affiliation. The district's response was to accelerate the surveillance network — treating a disputed detention as justification for deploying more lookouts.
United Teachers Los Angeles is among the most politically active unions in California, endorsing and funding the Democratic politicians who are now standing at microphones praising the operation they built. Karen Bass. Tony Thurmond. The officials who run on UTLA's support are the ones calling federal law enforcement an atrocious abuse of power.
The students they were elected to serve are majority below grade level. The teachers hired to reach them are being trained every Saturday on Wilshire Boulevard to watch for federal agents instead.