Law enforcement officials shot down suggestions that migrants who recently crossed the U.S.-Mexican border tried to forcefully board a school bus in a remote area of San Diego earlier this week.
Two brief encounters between a school bus and people not affiliated with a school were reported by national news outlets as a possible threat to students, but after an investigation officials determined there was no cause for alarm.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, a bus driver with the Jamul-Dulzura Union School District reported seeing groups of people along Highway 94 in the eastern part of the county, about 11 miles from the border.
In a letter to parents Wednesday, Superintendent Liz Bystedt wrote that people not affiliated with the school district either tried to stop a school bus or board it at a stop.
But on Thursday, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that no crime was committed because “deputies determined that no one forcefully tried to stop or enter the school buses.”
News station Fox 5 San Diego first reported that the individuals were migrants, though law enforcement officials have not confirmed if that was the case.
The first incident happened Tuesday afternoon, the station reported, when three men walking in the middle of the road tried to stop one of the buses, forcing the driver to go around them.
On Wednesday morning, a school bus driver reported seeing a group of about 20 people at a regular student stop, school district officials told the station. Parents were also present at the bus stop while students boarded, the school district told Fox 5.
The group of people included some who were not related to the students and school officials said they attempted to board the bus. But the Sheriff’s Office said they did not try to force their way on as has been described in separate news reports.
The school district reported both instances to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol, according to Bystedt’s letter to parents.
The CHP referred all questions to the sheriff’s office, and the border patrol did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The sheriff’s office said deputies investigated the matter and found no crime was committed. In response to the incidents, deputies made extra patrols along the remote bus route this week to make sure the route was safe.
“The Sheriff’s Office recognizes the concern from the community and has been working alongside the Jamul-Dulzura Union School District to provide reassurance to the families impacted by these events,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
It remains unclear if the group of people who approached the school buses thought the buses were affiliated with an immigration advocacy group. But law enforcement officials and immigrant advocacy groups suggest that was a possibility.
“It’s not uncommon for community volunteers and charitable organizations to provide resources in these parts of the county, some of which operate vehicles similar to school buses,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s U.S.-Mexico Border Program, said volunteer organizations usually do not provide transportation to migrants, because of the potential charges they can face. These volunteers usually provide water and if there is an emergency then they will contact law enforcement.
What exactly happened this week is still unclear, according to Rios.
“The assertion is that the individuals were likely migrants who had just crossed into the U.S., and that’s probably the case,” Rios said on Friday. “They likely saw the school bus and associated it as a mode of transportation to get them to a much more organized center.”
Nicole Cardinale said her son, Apollo, attends elementary school in the district and was on the bus Wednesday morning. She said her son told her he saw a group of adults with backpacks try to get onto his bus.
“It’s scary that these kids are put into this situation,” Cardinale told Fox 5.
The school district has instructed its drivers to drive past bus stops if they see people nearby. If that happens, parents are instructed to follow the bus to the next stop to pick up their children, according to an email that was sent out to parents.
Rios said he understands the concern from parents about the situation and thinks this is a teachable moment.
Driving past someone at a bus stop who matches a certain description “promotes the same type of fear, instead of promoting understanding of what the context is and what is actually taking place,” he said. “That concerns me, because what if it’s just someone who’s a person of color that’s standing at the school bus stop, or what if it’s a parent that’s mistaken as one of these individuals?”
The school district plans to hold a community meeting on Saturday to address the issue.
