Los Angeles-area high school student detained by immigration agents, LAUSD officials say

A high school student was allegedly detained by Department of Homeland Security agents in Arleta on Monday, according to Los Angeles Unified School District officials. 

"Today, unidentified immigration agents handcuffed, detained, and drew their guns on a BD6 student outside Arleta High School in an alleged case of mistaken identity," said a statement from LAUSD Board Member Kelly Gonez. "Such actions — violently detaining a child just outside a public school — are absolutely reprehensible and should have no place in our country."

LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said that the incident occurred when federal agents approached the family of a female student who was registering at Arleta High School. They allegedly pulled her family member, a 15-year-old boy, from a vehicle and placed him in handcuffs. 

"It is disturbing, it is heartbreaking, it is reprehensible, it is unacceptable," Carvalho said during a news conference on Monday. "An individual was pulled from the vehicle, who was riding with his grandmother. ... This young man was placed in handcuffs, presumably based on mistaken identity. He was not an adult, he's a 15-year-old boy with significant disabilities. This cannot happen."

Ultimately, the boy was released at the scene. LAUSD officials are not sharing his identity publicly and his citizenship and immigration status remain unclear.

CBS News Los Angeles has learned that he actually attends San Fernando High School and was only there for his family member's registration. The school is located in LAUSD's Board District 6, which represents the eastern San Fernando Valley and is overseen by Board Member Gonez.

Carvalho touched on the incident during Monday's scheduled news conference, where school officials were joined by Los Angeles police as they addressed the concerns of immigrant students and their families heading into the new school year.

The district planned the news conference after noticing a sharp decrease in attendance towards the end of the 2024-25 school year, when immigration enforcement operations began taking place across the county.

LAUSD officials say that there is surveillance footage of the incident, but that they will not be releasing it in order to preserve the student's identity and privacy. 

Carvalho alleges that the agents said that they weren't there to enforce immigration action.

In a statement, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said that allegations that agents targeted the school are "false."

"Agents were conducting a targeted operation on criminal illegal alien Cristian Alexander Vasquez-Alvarenga—a Salvadoran national and suspected MS-13 pledge with prior criminal convictions in the broader vicinity of Arleta," the spokesperson said.  

A spokesperson for the LAUSD said the district has been working closely with city and municipal leaders and have strengthened safety measures at and around schools. 

"Our message is clear: every child belongs in school, and we will do everything in our power to keep our campuses safe, supportive, and welcoming for all," the spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News Los Angeles. 

The district offers Know Your Rights resources, mental health services, legal referrals and a dedicated Family Hotline.