About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of deportation on California children, focusing on the grief experienced by classmates of a deported child.

Under the current Trump administration, nearly 700 children in California have been detained and more than 400 deported, according to an EdSource analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement data obtained by the Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley. One 9 year-old's deportation triggered a wave of grief and anger among her classmates at Downer Elementary School in San Pablo, in West Contra Costa Unified School District. Guests: Diana Ortega, third-grade teacher, West Contra Costa Unified School District Emma Gallegos, reporter, EdSource Read more from EdSource: Special Report: Detained and deported: California kids caught up by ICE ICE has detained more than 650 children in California under Trump’s deportation crackdown ‘Wendy isn’t here.’ Bay Area third graders grieve a classmate’s deportation Interactive map: ICE detainments of children in California shift under Trump Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald. Subscribe: Apple, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube

People in this episode

Host: Zaidee Stavely

Guests: Diana Ortega, Emma Gallegos

Topics covered

• deportation
• immigration
• child welfare
• education
• grief
• community response

Keywords

• deportation
• California children
• Trump administration
• ICE
• grief
• education
• West Contra Costa Unified School District

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: EdSource, Deportation Data Project, West Contra Costa Unified School District

Places: California, San Pablo, West Contra Costa Unified School District

More episodes of Education Beat

• California’s first transgender school board member is in a deeply red county · July 9, 2026
• Inside a preschool where students with disabilities are fully included · July 2, 2026
• Childcare providers struggle as 4-year-olds enroll in TK · June 18, 2026

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Education Beat podcast page.