Federal immigration agents detained the parents of two young children near John Marshall Elementary School in San Diego's Chollas Creek neighborhood this week, chasing the mother into a house under construction as she pleaded for help. The children, ages 2 and 5, remained at the school and continued their activities normally; after both parents were taken into federal custody, a family friend picked them up.
The arrest happened Wednesday near Loris Street and Altadena Avenue in the Chollas Creek area, about a block from the elementary school, according to KSDY 50. The outlet reports the two children detained attend a district program at the school. Video captured by nearby construction workers, reported by ABC 10News, showed agents chasing the mother into a house under construction, where she pleaded for help while agents ordered her to put her hands behind her back. Workers on site reportedly tried to intervene before federal agents told them to step back.
Mayor Gloria Issues Statement on Enforcement Action
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued a statement about the enforcement action. In his post on X, Mayor Todd Gloria
said the statement concerned the enforcement action.
Gloria issued a statement about the enforcement action.
District Statement on Enforcement Action
The San Diego Unified School District published a joint statement about the federal arrests near school sites, according to the San Diego Unified School District. The incident also drew local attention.
Separately, federal agents arrested a driver near San Diego City College and pursued a passenger onto campus, a pursuit district administrators confirmed involved an enrolled student despite federal assertions otherwise, as Hoodline previously reported.
Policy Shift Opened the Door to School-Adjacent Enforcement
The wider latitude federal agents now have near schools traces back to January 2025, when the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the 2021 Mayorkas “Protected Areas” memorandum that had restricted ICE and CBP enforcement near sensitive locations like schools, daycare centers and places of worship. Per NAFSA, current DHS directives instruct agents to exercise general common-sense discretion rather than adhere to strict geographic exclusion zones.
California has attempted to counter that shift at the state level. State guidance discusses restrictions on immigration enforcement at K-12 public schools, according to My School My Rights. The operation occurred near the school campus.
A Sharp Rise in Local Enforcement
The Marshall Elementary arrest provides another local example of immigration enforcement.
Immigration enforcement has remained a subject of local debate.
Gloria closed his statement by using the #ForAllofUs hashtag.
