Fear of Deportation Kept L.A. School’s Parents From Reporting Sex Abuse
<...> Two teachers have been charged with multiple counts of lewd conduct against several students at Miramonte Elementary—a school in South Los Angeles who’s student body is made up of 98% Latinos and 2% black students. Lawyers say at least three alleged victims have not been interviewed by law enforcement because their parents fear deportation. <...>
Miramonte Elementary School is located in an unincorporated area of South Los Angeles within the Florence-Firestone area which according to the school is a “predominantly Hispanic” community. It’s unclear how many students at the school have undocumented parents but 56% of the students are English language learners, about 1% are considered “migrant” students and the school has a “Migrant Education Program” and an “Emergency Immigrant Education Program,” leading many to believe, including the Sheriff, that there may be many parents who fear coming forward because they are undocumented. <...>
“Many of the parents with information about the case are afraid there may be negative consequences (deportation). Unfortunately, their fear is not unfounded, we have seen how people have been arrested and deported for selling ice cream on the streets,” Angelica Salas, executive director of the Human Rights Coalition of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) told La Opinion. <...>
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