ICE requires clearance to enter LAUSD schools

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Unified School District Board unanimously voted Tuesday to keep immigration agents out of school campuses who would have looked for undocumented students, the L.A. Times reported.

In the new policy, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will not be allowed to enter school campuses or request student data without clearance.

ICE officials who have a reason to be on campus must request that clearance from the superintendent and district lawyers before their visit, the Times reported.

According to the board's Tuesday meeting documents, the reasoning for the new policy was because the Obama administration's shift in enforcement priority "has created a climate of heightened fear and anxiety for many district students and their families."

After the vote, LAUSD Board President Steve Zimmer sent out a statement about the safety of the district's campuses.

"Today, we reaffirm that every L.A. Unified school is safe for every student and every family," the statement said. "The vitriol and hate that presently permeates the immigration debate, combined with a regrettable change in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement practices, made it necessary for the Board of Education to take a strong stand in solidarity with our families and our communities."