Santa Barbara High School students on Friday were forced to stay in their classrooms briefly because of the nearby presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, a school district spokesperson said.
ICE agents were near the high school Friday morning, Ed Zuchelli, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara Unified School District said. “Out of an abundance of caution,” the district put a “hold” on students, he said.
Students were not allowed to leave their classrooms between 11:23 and 11:56 a.m., Zuchelli said.
“Nothing happened on campus,” Zuchelli said, adding that the district is focusing on the care of its students.
“I think we are just trying to protect the mental health of our students, and we are reminding our staff to make sure they are keeping their eye on the kids,” Zuchelli said. “We know that mental health can be hard on their kids.”
The Santa Barbara Police Department said it plans to issue a news release about the incident.
Check back with the News-Press for updates on this story.
