LOS ANGELES — As more than 100 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District prepare to hold graduation ceremonies Monday and Tuesday, Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said the district is committed to protecting the rights and opportunities of every one of its students regardless of their immigration status. 

Speaking one day after the Trump administration deployed 300 National Guard troops to quell immigration protests in Los Angeles, Carvalho said two schools in the district reported Immigration and Customs Enforcement vans parked within blocks of the campuses Monday.

“No action has been taken, but we interpret those actions as actions of intimidation, instilling fear that may lead to self-deportation,” Carvalho said, adding that the district has noticed unmarked cars and government vehicles six or seven times near schools over the last few weeks. “That is not the community we want to be. That is not the state of the nation that we ought to be.”

He said he has deployed School Police Department officers to establish perimeters of safety around schools where federal actions are being detected and around graduation sites.

“Our schools are safe places,” Carvalho said. “Our schools are places of education and inspiration, not fear and intimidation. We know and understand that public education and democracy are two sides of the same American coin. Undermine one, the other will suffer. That is what’s at stake.” 

He said he has been in touch with LA Mayor Karen Bass to coordinate support and protections for schoolchildren, including expanded transportation options. He has also been in touch with California Gov. Gavin Newsom to discuss possible actions if the district sees significant negative attendance impacts during summer school or heading into the next school year because of immigration enforcement actions.

“I will put my job on the line to protect a 5-year-old, an 11-year-old, an 11th grader or a soon-to-be graduate,” Carvalho said. “Come after me. Don’t go after my kids.”

The LA Unified School District said escalated ICE activities were detected at schools in several parts of the city last week, including Boyle Heights, MacArthur Park, Lincoln Heights and Pico-Union. 

“Let’s call for this madness to come to an end,” School Board President Scott Schmerelson said at a news conference attended by all seven members of the governing group, the majority of whom come from immigrant families.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment about their presence around LA Unified schools. 

“What threat does a 4-year-old walking to their preschool graduation today present?” School Board member Nick Melvoin asked before calling for the Trump administration to rescind the National Guard and for ICE to end enforcement near and around schools.

The LAUSD news conference took place the same day California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state is suing the Trump administration for its National Guard deployment in the state.