A community protest is set to take place outside the Placentia Police Department on February 6 at 10:30 am, coinciding with a school walkout organized by students from El Dorado and Valencia High Schools. The rally aims to amplify voices opposing both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a recent resolution introduced by school board member Leandra Blades, which many deem inappropriate and insensitive.
The protest is being organized in response to the January 26th wrongful detention of an El Dorado student by ICE agents. The student, who wishes to remain anonymous, was reportedly stopped under the pretext of a minor bike infraction. After it was revealed that he was a U.S. citizen, ICE allegedly called in a gang unit to investigate him further. The authorities confiscated his phone and backpack during the incident, and he has since been unable to recover personal footage stored on his phone.
In the wake of this incident, Blades introduced a resolution titled “Support of Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and Federal Immigration Officers.” This resolution has sparked anger among students and community members, who believe it contradicts the district’s values of safety and respect for all students in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD). Critics argue that it trivializes the distressing experience faced by the detained student and disregards the broader issues surrounding ICE’s actions across the country…