Federal immigration agents arrested at least four people on streets bordering San Diego schools over a two-week span. SDUSD Superintendent Fabi Bagula and elected officials demanded ICE stop operating near campuses.

The most visible incident occurred Thursday, Sept. 10, when ICE agents detained two Haitian parents about one block from John Marshall Elementary School in the Chollas Creek neighborhood. The arrest happened around 8:45 a.m., minutes after school drop-off, at the corner of Loris Street and Altadena Avenue, according to ABC 10News.

San Diego Unified confirmed the two are parents of a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old enrolled in a program at John Marshall Elementary. The children were not present during the arrest and were picked up by a family friend, the district said.

Video first published by ABC News showed ICE agents blocking the couple's Toyota Prius, then pursuing them on foot. The mother, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Josselene Polidor, was shown running barefoot into a nearby house.

An agent in a camouflage head covering and a vest marked "POLICE ICE" tackled her, the Times of San Diego reported. The agent's gun dropped to the floor during the arrest and was retrieved afterward.

DHS confirmed Friday, Sept. 11, that the couple, James Mervil and Polidor, entered the country lawfully in 2022 but overstayed, ABC 10News reported. People who know the family said they had Temporary Protected Status (TPS) until late July 2026, when the Trump administration ended TPS for all Haitians.

The couple has a pending asylum case, according to those acquaintances. Mervil was released with an ankle monitor. Polidor remains in ICE custody.

The day before the John Marshall arrest, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, ICE agents arrested Renatho Kemsley Casseus, a Haitian immigrant, at the edge of the San Diego City College campus. A passenger fled onto campus and was briefly pursued by agents on school grounds, according to the Times of San Diego.

ICE initially said Casseus was "NOT a student," then revised its statement to say only that he was "NOT arrested on a campus." The buildings on all four corners of the intersection where the arrest occurred belong to the college.

Officials respond

Bagula, SDUSD Trustee Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins and San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera issued a joint statement Thursday condemning the arrests and their impact on school communities. The statement urged federal authorities to stop enforcement near schools during drop-off and pickup times. The Times of San Diego also listed State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson as a signatory.

None of the officials have legal authority to prevent ICE from making arrests on public streets next to school property. The joint statement acknowledged that only ICE can choose where to conduct an arrest, so long as it occurs off campus.

Mayor Todd Gloria issued a separate statement Thursday calling on DHS to provide stronger oversight and demanding ICE stop enforcement operations near schools during arrival and dismissal, according to a press release from the mayor's office.

Elo-Rivera, whose district includes the Chollas Creek neighborhood, was at John Marshall Elementary on Friday, Sept. 11, for school drop-off. He said he was there "to stand with other community members who are trying to make sure that the kids got to school safe."

At a rally outside the San Diego Immigration Court on Thursday, Wister Gaetan, cofounder of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, told KPBS: "Mothers are afraid to drop their kid at school, children cannot go to school, parents cannot leave their house to get basic necessities for their American children."

What La Jolla families should know

The arrests occurred in neighborhoods miles from La Jolla, but the district's response applies to all SDUSD campuses, including La Jolla High School, Bird Rock Elementary, La Jolla Elementary and Torrey Pines Elementary. In March 2026, the SDUSD Board of Education voted to revise its immigration-related policies to align with the California Department of Education.

ICE arrests in the San Diego area hit a record 1,952 in July 2026, nearly triple the 662 recorded in July 2025, according to federal data reported by Fox 5 San Diego. Over 70 percent of people arrested by ICE in San Diego since January 2025 had no criminal record, according to an analysis of that data by The New York Times.

Groups like Union del Barrio monitor areas near schools in early mornings and warn parents via social media if ICE vehicles are spotted nearby. No La Jolla-specific guidance from the district has been announced, and no upcoming SDUSD board meeting or community forum on the issue has been scheduled as of publication.