Despite being a star athlete and an honor student at Miguel Contreras Learning Center, on July 4, Nory Sontay Ramos was deported along with her mother, Estela Ramos Bates, to Guatemala.

Nory and her mother were detained on June 30, a routine appointment at the immigration offices in downtown Los Angeles when they were called in for their asylum case. Both had arrived in the country in 2015, fleeing threats from the 18th Street Gang. In an unexpected turn of events, Nory's mother passed away on September 9 in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala at the age of 45. In a phone interview with MSNBC, Nory said her mother had been overwhelmed with stress since their deportation and terrified, having left Guatemala after receiving threats from the 18th Street Gang. "She suffered from persistent headaches related to hypertension. She barely slept. She kept thinking about our situation and the possibility of the gang finding us. She was very worried," Nory said. Her teacher, Darcy White, started the GoFundMe account "Plz help Nory Sontay Ramos navigate life now, without mom" to help the student: "Nory's mom passed away suddenly on Monday September 8/early morning of September 9, without warning or apparent reason. Now she is a young adult in a country she doesn't know, with a family she is reconnecting with."

Nory has not been the only student arrested and deported in Los Angeles.

On June 3, 17-year-old Johanna, the valedictorian of the tenth grade at Maywood Academy High School, a swim team athlete, and an active member of the Walking Club, was detained along with her mother and little sister when they went to their immigration court appointment in Los Angeles for their asylum case.

Almost a month later, on July 5, they were deported to Guatemala, 18 months after fleeing violence.There are no specific statistics on the number of high school students detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because the agency does not provide this breakdown. The number of students from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) who have been detained or deported in recent months is also unknown. It is estimated that around 30,000 LAUSD students are undocumented immigrants. While there have been no raids on schools,educational institutions are no longer protected from ICE action under President Trump's administration, making students more vulnerable to detention. The exact number of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students who have been detained or deported in recent months is unknown. In August, a 15-year-old student from San Fernando High School was detained by armed immigration agents, who removed him from his family's car and handcuffed him. The incident occurred outside Arleta High School in the San Fernando Valley, where the boy had gone because a relative was registering. The student was detained for several hours and later released. Benjamin Guerrero Cruz, an 18-year-old senior at Reseda Charter High School, was arrested and detained by ICE agents while walking his dog in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was later taken to Arizona without his family's knowledge and then returned to California, where he remains in custody at the Adelanto Detention Center. During a press conference in late August, Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), said they have implemented protection protocols unlike any other in the country, with a family preparedness guide that helps parents navigate these uncertain times, even empowering a trusted neighbor or relative to care for their children. This includes coordinating with local entities, municipalities, and mayors, establishing support and protection perimeters for children, particularly on their commute to and from school. “We have requested that federal entities create exclusion zones within two blocks of the school, one hour before the start of the school day and one hour after, to ensure that our children do not face the unimaginable.” The superintendent acknowledged that they have seen a slight decrease in enrollment, which is partly due to immigration issues in families with one or both parents having a fragile immigration status, but whose children are citizens by birth.

Some security measures that have been taken in LAUSD are:

Two new laws signed by Governor Gavin Newsom are expected to help prevent the detention of more students not only in Los Angeles but throughout California.

AB 49, or California Safe Schools Act, prohibits school employees from allowing immigration agents into non-public areas without a warrant.

SB 98, or the Sending Alerts to Families in Education (SAFE) Act, requires schools to immediately notify students, staff, and families if immigration agents are on campus. Seek Immigration Attorney Advice. Immigration attorney Alex Galvez said that if an asylum seeker who entered the country within the last two years receives a letter to appear on the seventh or second floor at 300 N. Los Angeles Street, with their family and passports, under the pretext of a document review, it is a high-level red flag, and there is a possibility they will be detained.“Especially if, for example, they already had an appointment for March, and they are being asked to go earlier, I urge you to please consult an immigration attorney as soon as possible.” He emphasized that Immigration wants them to think it is a routine appointment so they will be complacent.

“However, before deciding not to appear for your appointment, consult with a lawyer to understand the legal consequences of not showing up, because you would automatically become fugitives in the eyes of immigration authorities.”

The lawyer pointed out that, on the other hand, those who are safe are immigrants whose cases are in the Ninth Circuit and who have been granted a stay of deportation.

“There is a very high risk for people who have remained in the country under humanitarian programs approved by Obama and Biden, such as ISAP or OSUP.”

The ISAP program is the Intensive Supervised Appearance Program, administered by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an Alternative to Detention (ATD) for immigrants.

It allows certain people to remain in their communities while their immigration cases are processed, but requires regular check-ins, possible unannounced home visits, and often electronic monitoring, such as an electronic ankle monitor, to ensure compliance.