SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — School leaders across San Diego are trying to calm fears regarding President-Elect Trump's plan for mass deportations.
The principal of Perkins K-8 School hears those fears every day.
"We are going to continue to ensure that our families understand that safety is our number one concern, regardless of where the threat may come from," said Principal Fernando Hernandez.
Hernandez has been the principal at the school in Barrio Logan for more than twenty years. Most of the students live in poverty. Many of the families live in shelters. Some live in their cars, but they are treated equally once on campus.
"Every child is valued and supported and loved, and we try to establish a strong connection with every single family," said Hernandez.
Natasha Martinez is a newly hired special ed instructional aide. Martinez's children are enrolled at the school. The family is seeking asylum from Venezuela.
"My daughters here have amazing opportunities. I was a teacher in my home country, and I love that I can continue my profession here," she said in Spanish.
Roughly 35 other families from Venezuela have children at this school.
Martinez says she isn't worried about mass deportations under a second Trump Administration.
She says she's been processed and given permission to work.
"As long as we're following the law, we are doing everything by the book. We have nothing to worry about," said Martinez.
Principal Hernandez says he wants every student to feel at home.
"What we are doing is creating a very strong sense of belonging, a sense of family."
Under federal law, all children, regardless of immigration status, have the right to attend public schools. Immigration Customs Enforcement is not allowed at schools, and agents cannot arrest, interview, or monitor students at schools. Schools in San Diego County don't track immigration status, but it's estimated roughly 9% of students in California have at least one parent who is undocumented.
"Many of our students live in what is called mixed-status family; you might have siblings, some of whom are documented, some of whom aren't. There might be one parent who is another parent who isn't; that's a very common reality for many of our students and families," said San Diego Unified School Trustee Richard Barrera.
Under Trump's first administration, San Diego Unified and other local school districts announced their campuses would be sanctuaries against any efforts to deport students.
"It's the incredible damage that could be done to a community like San Diego if you take the rhetoric on face value, and we have to, and we have to be prepared for it," said Barrera.
"Their stress level has gone up because they fear they're a target of the new administration's policies," said Principal Hernandez.
