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Protests, school absences noted on ‘A Day Without Immigrants’
immigration protest
More than 100 people gathered near Stanislaus State in Turlock on Sunday as part of the People Over Papers demonstration (COLBY GOMES/The Journal).

Nearly a quarter of all Turlock Unified School District students were absent on Monday — the day of a nationwide protest highlighting the importance of immigrants in the United States.

“A Day Without Immigrants” demonstrations were held around the country, calling for one-day boycotts of school, work, and commerce.

Nearly 61 percent of TUSD’s entire student body identifies as Hispanic, more than 20 percent higher than the next closest ethnic identifier.

“Although some families did share that they kept their students home as a result of the protest, we do not have data to indicate whether the majority of absences can be attributed to this,” said Marie Russell, director of communications for TUSD.

On Monday, 3,238 of the district’s 13,573 students (23.9 percent) were not in class, a 113 percent increase from a week earlier when 1,519 students were absent, and nearly a 175 percent increase from Tuesday, when 1,182 students were out one day after the protest.

Schools in California are primarily funded based on attendance, according to Russell.

“Whether an absence is excused or unexcused, school funding is impacted when students are not at school,” Russell said. “However, what we are most concerned about is students missing out on vital learning and services our schools provide, from healthy meals to social-emotional supports to co-extra-curricular activities, and more.”

Immigration was a hot-button issue in the run-up to last year’s presidential election, and has remained in the national spotlight with President Trump promising to deport millions of illegal immigrants.

On Sunday, more than 100 people gathered and chanted “immigrants make this country great” on the corner of Geer Road and Monte Vista Avenue as part of the People Over Papers demonstration.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began executing raids shortly after Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20. The President threw out policies that prohibited undocumented immigrants from being arrested in sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals.

“We want to affirm that TUSD remains committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all students and families,” Russell said. “We encourage our families to send students to school every day so learning can continue without disruption.” 

Large-scale absences also were noticed in neighboring Merced and San Joaquin counties, according to teachers there.

Perhaps the largest protest nationwide occurred in Los Angeles, where demonstrators and members of the LAPD came face to face on a desolate Interstate 5.