Parent arrested by immigration agents outside Chula Vista elementary school

Alexandra Mendoza, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Aug 7, 2025

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SAN DIEGO — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a parent outside a Chula Vista school during morning drop-off on Wednesday, officials said.

School officials said the incident did not occur on the property of Enrique Camarena Elementary School in Otay Ranch.

“The Chula Vista Elementary School District is committed to supporting every student, regardless of immigration status, and our highest priorities are our students’ safety, education, and well-being,” the school district said in a statement. “The district remains committed to reassuring families that CVESD remains a safe space for all students.”

Patrick Divver, the field office director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in San Diego, said that an immigration judge had ordered the woman’s deportation in absentia on July 15, 2022.

“The arrest was part of ICE’s ongoing enforcement efforts and was resolved promptly, safely, and not on the school grounds,” he said Thursday.

One of the Trump administration’s first actions upon being sworn in was to rescind a Biden-era guidance that restricted immigration enforcement operations “in or near” places deemed “protected areas,” including schools, places of worship and medical facilities. At the time, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the Trump administration “will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”

Ashley Cena said that she was walking her dog in the area when she witnessed the incident unfold on Windingwalk Street near the school around 8 a.m. She shared a 12-second video to the media that appears to show federal agents approaching someone inside a white car.

She said that she saw the agents take a woman out of her Tesla and walk her to a waiting SUV. There were two children inside the Tesla at the time, Cena said.

Cena said it was “surprising,” but that she understood that the agents were “doing their job.”

Superintendent Eduardo Reyes addressed the incident in a letter sent Wednesday to families and staff, saying that the district has “strong protocols in place to prevent unauthorized access to our schools.”

Reyes added that “while our schools are secure, we recognize that families may face challenges outside of school.”

He encouraged parents to create a plan for the district to care for their children in the event they are unable to be dropped off or picked up “due to unforeseen circumstances.” He also directed parents to the district website to review resources on navigating changes in immigration policies.

County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, whose district includes Chula Vista, said she questions why the federal agents “couldn’t have done it in a different way.”

“It’s extremely concerning that the way this has been done, it is not by coincidence that they’re doing this in broad daylight, in front of people’s children, in front of very transited areas, like a school drop-off.”

(Staff writer Jemma Stephenson contributed to this report.)