As students at Maywood Academy High School in Los Angeles County prepared their backpacks to return to school, some packed additional items they never had before — government-issued documents verifying their legal immigration status and cards listing their legal rights.

These small details are signs of growing anxiety after deportations started hitting close to home.

Johanna, a student at the school, was arrested in June, alongside her mother and younger sister, while attending a scheduled immigration court appearance for their legal asylum case.

News of her arrest sent shock waves through the school, already on edge because of the omnipresent presence of immigration agents in and around their neighborhoods.

“It didn’t feel real, being completely honest, because we’re kids. We should b

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