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LAUSD Pulls Charity Golf Tournament From Trump National Over Immigration Comments

RANCHOS PALOS VERDES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles Unified School District will no longer be affiliated with the Trump National Golf Club over "negative immigration comments" made last week by Donald Trump, officials said Wednesday.

The LAUSD's Beyond the Bell branch has officially pulled out of hosting the 8th Annual Beyond the Bell Golf Classic charity tournament at Trump's Rancho Palos Verdes golf club benefiting Camp Skyhook at Clear Creek, LAUSD spokeswoman Cynthia Montalban said.

The announcement comes just one day after the PGA announced it would no longer host its annual Grand Slam of Golf at Trump National.

Camp Skyhook is part of a collaboration with Lakers Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Skyhook Foundation, which focuses on an immersive, hands-on experience for fourth- and fifth- graders to inspire them in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — learning.

The event, which was scheduled for Nov. 23 at the Trump National Golf Club, was set to raise funds for Beyond the Bell's Music and Entertainment Education and Camp Skyhook at Clear Creek.

Most students participating in Camp Skyhook come from low-income households, with approximately 72 percent of them speaking English as a second language and 80 percent of students belonging to an immigrant family, according to Beyond the Bell Executive Director Alvaro Cortés.

"I'm an immigrant myself. To paint us with a broad brush, with such a difficult and uncaring manner, where everyone was denigrated, was unconscionable," Cortés said.

"There was absolutely no reason to host our largest fundraiser at a Trump facility after Donald Trump shared negative immigration comments," Cortés said. "Beyond the Bell is dedicated to serve the underrepresented and uplift underprivileged communities of Los Angeles."

LAUSD says Beyond the Bell serves 160,000 students every day.

According to Montalban, Trump National Golf Club has refused to return a deposit of $7,500 made by Beyond the Bell prior to Trump's statements.

"That could probably purchase numerous instruments for our marching band. It could provide for at least a couple of schools to spend a week at our camps," said Cortés, adding that the cancellation was given five months before the slated date. "In fact, in their letter, they state that they've had numerous requests for that date, to hold tournaments at their court."

District officials are currently looking for a new location for the golf tournament.

Cortés concluded that, "We understand that everyone has a right to make comments. Comments that were made ... offended us, so we're going to take our business elsewhere."

A request for comment from the Trump National Golf Club was not returned.

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