Outraged senators urge DHS to end ‘welfare checks’ following unannounced L.A. school visits
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WASHINGTON — California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff gave Trump administration officials until May 2 to answer questions about why federal agents attempted to speak with students at two Los Angeles elementary schools last week.
The Department of Homeland Security said agents were conducting “welfare checks” on the students. But Padilla and Schiff, in a letter Friday, said the actions “terrorized hundreds of thousands of students across Los Angeles and undermine public trust.”
The letter is addressed to to Acting Executive Associate Director Robert Hammer of Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The senators requested a briefing on the nature, scale and objectives of the welfare checks, as well as policies and protocols surrounding the checks on children.
The letter detailed that the senators want to know how the department goes about handling issues including officer training, coordination with victim services and whether agents contacted the children’s attorneys prior to in-person visits.
“We do not understand why, if you obtained evidence that led you to believe that these children were in danger, your agency has not made a referral to the California Department of Social Services and did not coordinate with the school in advance of the ‘welfare check’ regarding potential child welfare or trafficking concerns,” the senators wrote.
House Democrats, led by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) also sent Homeland Security officials a letter Monday demanding a briefing about the operation.
Immigration agents sought access to students at two Los Angeles elementary schools last week and were denied access. House Democrats demand answers.
Federal agents showed up April 7 unannounced and without a judicial warrant at Russell Elementary and Lillian Street Elementary in the Florence-Graham neighborhood of South Los Angeles. They asked to speak with five students collectively, ranging from first-graders to sixth-graders. But school principals denied access.
According to L.A. Unified Supt. Alberto Carvalho, the agents falsely claimed the students’ families had given permission for the contact. The agents identified themselves as being with Homeland Security Investigations.
An LAUSD spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the senators’ letter.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told The Times that the agents were ensuring that children who arrived unaccompanied at the border “are safe and not being exploited, abused and sex trafficked.”
“Any assertions that officers lied are false,” she said previously. “Our law enforcement clearly identified themselves and made it clear this was a welfare check and not an immigration enforcement action.”
Asked to comment about the senators’ letter, McLaughlin said, “The vilifying of our law enforcement must stop.”
UCLA confirmed that an international student was detained at the U.S.-Mexico border. A campus rally was quickly organized in her support.
The senators had met this week with officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations. It appears they left with more questions than answers.
According to their letter, Padilla and Schiff are requesting information on whether agents have arrested, detained or deported any formerly unaccompanied children or their sponsors in connection with the welfare checks in California and nationwide. They also want to know what steps Immigration and Customs Enforcement is taking to address their agents’ conduct, including finding out why they lied about receiving permission to speak with the children.
“These types of ‘welfare checks’ scare children and their family members, rather than promote their safety,” the senators wrote. “We urge you to end any efforts to conduct ‘welfare checks’ on school premises and to ensure that ICE agents do not attempt to visit or enter schools without a warrant.”
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