A Los Angeles Unified School District ethics teacher, Lupe Carrasco Cardona, joined members of the community organization Unión del Barrio on patrols near schools in Los Angeles aimed at spotting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and alerting residents to their presence, according to footage aired by CBS.
LAUSD teacher joins group monitoring for ICE activity near Los Angeles schools
A Los Angeles Unified School District ethics teacher, Lupe Carrasco Cardona, joined members of the community organization Unión del Barrio on patrols near schools in Los Angeles aimed at spotting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and alerting residents to their presence, according to footage aired by CBS.
During a CBS ride-along outside Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in downtown Los Angeles, Cardona and her colleagues looked for vehicles with tinted windows or double-parked cars and responded to tips from members of the public. The patrol did not encounter any ICE agents during the outing, though the group flagged a Ford Explorer that turned out to belong to a member of the general public.
Cardona stated the group's role is limited to observation and reporting. 'We don't intercept. We don't engage with them. We're just alerting the community,' she said. She also claimed, without providing further details, that members of the local community planned their day around the group's reports.
United Teachers Los Angeles chapter chair Jon Paul Arciniega, speaking at the school gates during the footage, described the effort as beneficial. He said teachers were 'devoting their own personal time to just watching the neighborhood and making sure that it's safe,' adding that the activity had been 'really beneficial for the students and the families.'
LAUSD, the nation's second-largest school district, returned to school this week amid financial strain. County Superintendent Debra Duardo issued the district a 'Lack of Going Concern' determination on July 2, warning it may be unable to meet financial obligations during the 2027–28 and 2028–29 school years. The district could run out of cash by 2027, according to the LA County Office of Education.
Separately, ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations office in San Francisco this week arrested Charles Peter Billone, 64, a Canadian national wanted since 1991 on allegations of sexually assaulting a child in Canada. Billone had originally been arrested on two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference before allegedly failing to appear in court and fleeing.
- The source does not state whether LAUSD has issued any official position on Cardona's participation in the patrols.
- The source does not state whether the patrols are conducted during school hours or on the teachers' personal time.
- The source does not state how many teachers or community members are involved in Unión del Barrio's monitoring activity.
- The source does not state what specific method the group uses to alert the community after spotting ICE agents.
- The source does not state whether ICE or any federal agency has responded to the patrols.
- The source does not establish a factual connection between the Billone arrest and the school patrol story beyond proximity in the article.
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