Community members demand release of LAUSD student in federal custody for nearly 2 weeks

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- LAUSD teachers and community members on Tuesday demanded the release of a high school senior who has spent nearly two weeks in custody after he was detained by federal agents in Van Nuys.

Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz was about to begin his senior year at Reseda Charter High School. But on Aug. 8, he was taken off the street by masked federal agents while he was walking his dog.

Federal officials have not said why he was detained in the first place.

A group of educators, community leaders and individuals who witnessed him being detained held a rally outside of the school district's headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

Speakers at the rally included one of the 18-year-old's former teachers, Lizette Becerra, who visited him Saturday at the Adelanto Detention Center, where he remains in custody. She said his health and safety are at risk.

Becerra said he's lost 20 pounds since he was taken to Adelanto.

She says he told her masked men wearing shirts that said "immigration police" grabbed him, asking if he was another man they were looking for.

Originally from Chile, teachers say the student was looking forward to his senior year and getting his diploma.

"Benji's voice may be silenced by a cell right now, but ours will not be," his former teacher Claudia Rojas said at the rally.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family pay legal fees and other essentials.

Guerrero-Cruz's detainment is not the first incident involving an LAUSD student and federal immigration authorities.

A 15-year-old boy was detained outside Arleta High School ahead of the new school year. He was later released.

Additionally, immigration raids were reported near four LAUSD campuses on the first day of school last week.