A San Diego school board member has enraged the left after saying deporting migrant children made schools “better.”
“The more illegal aliens with children are deported from Ramona, the better the student-to-teacher ratio,” Maya Phillips, a Ramona Unified School District board member, said at the March 4 meeting.
She went on to explain the reduction in the student population, given their legal status, would make “better the quality of education for our American and legal immigrant children,” and justified her views “from a practical perspective.”
In an email to CBS 8 San Diego, the board member said she does not pick one side over the other, but rather made a practical observation.
The California Post has reached out to Phillips for further comment.
San Diego County — home to an estimated 150,000+ undocumented immigrants — has been especially affected by nationwide immigration enforcement.
In 2025, child detentions rose sharply: More than 250 children were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego and Imperial counties.
Phillips said families who come to the US illegally make a choice and put their kids in environments such as the one currently in the US. --->READ MORE HERE
A San Diego-area school board member has come under fire after saying that deporting migrant children makes schools 'better.'
Maya Phillips, herself an immigrant from St. Petersburg, Russia, made the controversial remarks at the Ramona Unified School District meeting on March 4, which was livestreamed online.
'The more illegal aliens with children are deported from Ramona, the better the student-to-teacher ratio,' she said, noting that teachers unions have advocated for smaller student-to-teacher ratios in the classrooms in the past.
'This would be a way to achieve it, while saving the district money on hiring new teachers,' Phillips continued.
She then went on to explain that the reduction in the student population would make 'better the quality of education for our American and legal immigrant children,' justifying her views from a 'practical perspective.'
Phillips also addressed the concerns migrant families have about Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids - arguing that families who come to the US illegally made a choice to do so.
'I want to reassure American families in our district who are here legally that they have no reason to worry about immigration enforcement and no cause for their children to miss school,' she said.
'As for families of illegal aliens, their worry and concern about immigration enforcement is totally appropriate, warranted, well-placed and justified.
'It's a choice to be in the country illegally, and parents chose to put their kids in this situation of constant fear of enforcement.'
'There is a cost to breaking the law and that cost is peace of mind,' she continued. 'Unlawful presence in the country does carry legal risks.'
The comments quickly sparked ire in the school district, where nearly 51 percent of the area she represents is Hispanic.
It also has a population that comprises 15 percent immigrants and 65 percent naturalized citizens, according to NBC San Diego.
The larger county is also home to an estimated 150,000 undocumented immigrants, and in 2025, more than 250 children were arrested by ICE in San Diego and neighboring Imperial counties.
'Instead of helping us, she is going to knock us down,' Yolanda Morado, a grandmother of a student in the school district told NBC San Diego.
Thalia Amaya, a mother, also told CBS 8 that Phillips' remarks were 'offensive.'
'It's really, really upsetting,' she said.
Another mother, Jenny Valasco, said she found it concerning that a school board member was making the comments about children.
'I think as educators, the children always come first, right?' Valasco said.
'Like their safety, them feeling included and them feeling like they belong, you know, so it's just unfortunate to know that in 2026 we're still having these conversations of like people being like illegal or this or that, but they're not seeing them as humans, you know? They're seeing [children] as like numbers or statistics.' --->READ MORE HERE
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