Richmond School District Walks Back Its Account of an ICE Arrest Near Nystrom Elementary as Families Stay Home

West Contra Costa Unified School District officials said Friday that a man arrested by federal immigration agents near Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond on Thursday was not the parent of a district student, correcting their own first account of the arrest.

On Thursday, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton wrote to families that a parent had been detained near the school after dropping off his children, and several school board members posted about it. Trustee Cinthia Hernandez said the arrest happened around 7:35 a.m. at South 6th Street and Maine Avenue, about four blocks from the campus in the Iron Triangle neighborhood.

What the district says now

In a Friday letter, Cotton said the arrest did not involve a Nystrom parent at drop-off, and she was not aware of any immigration enforcement at drop-off or pickup at a district school. The person was a parent in the community, she wrote, but was arrested in the neighborhood, not in front of the school. A district spokesperson said the man's children are not enrolled in WCCUSD, according to Contra Costa Pulse and Richmondside.

The fear didn't go away with the correction. The district told ABC7 that attendance on Friday dropped compared with other days before three-day weekends.

What schools can and can't allow

Cotton pointed families to Assembly Bill 49, the 2025 state law that bars agents doing immigration enforcement from entering school campuses or looking at student records without a judicial order. The district asked principals and teachers to be outside during drop-off and pickup, and posted legal aid and family support links.

Half Moon Bay too

On the Peninsula coast, Cabrillo Unified sent parents a letter Friday morning confirming ICE agents were present in the community, ABC7 reported. The district's posted policy says it won't share student information with immigration authorities without parental consent, a court order or a judicial subpoena. It also lists the San Mateo County rapid response hotline, 203-666-4472, for anyone who sees ICE activity at a home, workplace or neighborhood.