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Candidates respond to parent concerns about ICE presence and student safety
Summary
When parents said ICE presence has made daily school travel unsafe, candidates pledged legislative and local actions: Carrie McDonald said she is suing the Trump administration on enforcement authority; Kate Lipurgarabedian cited past bills (driver's licenses, legal defense funding) and pledged to push for protections.
A walking-bus driver at the forum said the presence of ICE has increased fear among families, particularly Haitian immigrants after TPS changes, and asked how candidates would support families and educators to keep students safe.
Carrie McDonald described direct legal and legislative action. "I am suing Donald Trump in my day job," she said, and urged state-level protections to make civil enforcement in sensitive locations (schools, hospitals, churches) impermissible. She called for protections to ensure children can safely get to and from school and for the state to step in where federal enforcement has harmed communities.
Kate Lipurgarabedian, drawing on her legislative record, pointed to state steps already taken—driver's licenses for undocumented residents and a legal-defense line in the state budget that grew from $5 million to $8 million—and said she would continue to push for protective measures and to elevate immigrant voices in policymaking. Ryan O'Malley described local preparedness steps and behind-the-scenes coordination with law enforcement and the district attorney to deter criminal activity while protecting immigrant families.
Candidates described a mix of legal, budgetary and community engagement approaches rather than proposing new state statute text at the forum.
