SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A recent detainment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) near Linda Vista Elementary School has sparked a wave of concern and outrage within the local community — but ICE officials are pushing back on allegations surrounding the incident.
According to Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE had no involvement on campus. Her office issued a statement, shared by ICE’s San Diego Field Office, clarifying that ICE agents detained a man—identified as an unauthorized immigrant from Mexico—after he pulled into a nearby parking lot, not on school property.
Detained on Aug. 14, the man taken into custody is the father of a student at the local elementary school. Dr. Fabiola Bagula, superintendent of San Diego Unified School District, confirmed he had been waiting to pick up his child when the situation unfolded. Meanwhile, McLaughlin says he has since been placed in removal proceedings.
Despite the official explanation, the incident left many in the Linda Vista neighborhood feeling alarmed. Witnesses described seeing federal agents allegedly hitting the man’s car with their hands as they demanded he get out—and this all occurring just minutes before school let out for the day.
Dr. Bagula decried the action at a press conference on Friday morning, stating, “You can have your immigration reform without traumatizing children.” She added, “To our families and to every child, documented or not, every child had the legal right to attend public school in the United States. We will protect that right and we will do so together.”
This marks the second such incident in recent weeks, amplifying fears among families. Earlier this month, a mother was detained near Camarena Elementary in Chula Vista.
As immigration enforcement actions near schools continue to garner scrutiny, local officials maintain that schools remains a safe zone, but some parents—and students—understandably remain shaken.
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