Oxnard school district seeks to reassure families amid immigration raids

OXNARD, Calif. (KABC) — As the new school year begins in Southern California, students are returning to classrooms amid fears of the Trump administration’s immigration raids.

In Ventura County, one Oxnard man says his four children – ages 9, 11, 12 and 13 – are afraid of going back to school after their mother was detained during a chaotic immigration raid at a marijuana farm on July 10.

“A lot of things run through my children’s heads and minds because right now, we’re not safe anywhere,” the man told Eyewitness News.

Camarillo City Councilmember Martita Martinez-Bravo recently visited the family to drop off school supplies. As the executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Fieldworkers, Martinez-Bravo says the small organization has been inundated with calls and that the need for help is tremendous.

“There are many families who are unable to pay rent, and they have to continue to work and many because they had one or two parents that were detained, they are really struggling,” Martinez-Bravo said.

School officials are also responding to some of these needs and fears. Oxnard Union High School District Superintendent Tom McCoy says the district is comprised of roughly 80% Hispanic and Latino students.

“We do serve a lot of migrant farmworker families,” he said.

Earlier this year, the school district passed a resolution reaffirming it is a safe place for students and families threatened by immigration enforcement, including a commitment to train staff on school policy based on state law.

“We have to receive a lawful, signed judicial warrant before allowing authorization for any immigration officer onto the campus or allowing access to records,” McCoy told Eyewitness News.

For those who may not feel safe attending class in person, McCoy says there’s an online education option.

“We’ve also set up a program where, they’re initially unsure, we can set them up in our online independent study high school,” McCoy said.

As for the father of four, he’s continuing to work as a farm worker. A legal nonprofit is working toward his wife’s release on bond, and he’s fundraising for her ongoing legal defense.

He says his children give him the strength to get through each day.