By Ronny Reyes
Published Aug. 29, 2024
Updated Aug. 29, 2024, 11:21 a.m. ET
A group of about 20 migrants terrified young children by trying to get on their California school bus early Wednesday — a day after a smaller group walked down a highway trying to stop another bus, district officials said.
The alarming incidents occurred in the Jamul-Dulzura Union School District close to the Mexico border — where school bus drivers are now being ordered to skip stops where migrants might be waiting.
On Tuesday, at least three migrants walked in the middle of Highway 94 to try to stop a bus that was forced to go around them, Fox 5 reported.
Then early Wednesday, about 20 tried to get on a bus at the same stop just off the highway as students got on for school — forcing parents to make sure their kids were safe.
“It was definitely really scary,” said mom Nicole Cardinale, whose 8-year-old son was on the bus Wednesday.
“Your initial shock is you’re helpless,” she said of getting alerted to the scary run in.
Cardinale said her son was “really confused” by the scary episode. “He said these adults — they weren’t kids — had backpacks on and they were trying to get on our bus … He said there was a lot of them,” she told Fox 5.
“It’s just scary that these kids were put in that situation,” Cardinale added.
“If those 20 people would have gotten onto the bus and tried to take over the bus, these kids and the bus driver could have been in real danger.”
The district has reported the case to the California Highway Patrol, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and US Border Patrol.
One activist who helps at the nearby border suggested that the migrants might have just seen a bus that could take them to a safer area with help.
However, Jeremy Adams, another parent in the district, said of those trying to board his kid’s bus: “We don’t know who these people are.
“We don’t know if they have any criminal history, what their background is.”
The sheriff’s department said it was “conducting a follow-up investigation to determine if a criminal act has occurred.”
“The Sheriff’s Office takes issues regarding student safety very seriously and are working with the school district in order to keep the students and our community safe,” said spokesperson Kimberly King.
School district Superintendent Liz Bystedt, meanwhile, has ordered all bus drivers to skip over stops where migrants are nearby, Fox 5 said, citing a letter sent to parents.
“Please stay [vigilant] and if the bus drives by, please follow the bus to pick up your child at the next stop,” she told parents and guardians.
The superintendent said the district’s director of maintenance and operations has also been following buses around the route to “ensure that everything was quiet.”
Rep. Darrell Issa, who represents the district, was among those expressing outrage at the incidents.1.2K
“Illegals are now trying to force their way onto our kids’ school buses,” Issa wrote on X.
The district did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for further information.
