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The Tucson Police Department is scrutinizing the way it deals with immigration laws at TUSD schools after about 100 Catalina Magnet High School students left school and marched downtown Tuesday morning protesting the deportation of a student and his family last week.

Around noon, Assistant Chief Roberto Villaseñor spoke to about 30 students who continued to linger in front of the Police Department headquarters at 270 S. Stone Ave. to explain why a police officer notified Border Patrol after school officials found marijuana in a boy’s backpack.

Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer also addressed the students, and stressed that the Catalina student and his family were deported after a sequence of events that began after officials learned he had an illegal drug on campus.

“We don’t want immigration laws enforced on our school campuses,” Pfeuffer said. But when school officials found marijuana on the student, it’s district policy to notify law enforcement, he said.

The Tucson officer learned through the course of the investigation that the boy and his family were illegal entrants, notified Border Patrol and agents came to the school.

“We are obligated to notify the proper authorities when we become aware of criminal activity,” Villaseñor said. Tucson Unified School District officials have requested a meeting with police to discuss Department policy, but they are still waiting for a response from Tucson police, said District spokeswoman Chyrl Hill Lander, a TUSD spokeswoman.

She said they hope to come up with a plan to avoid this situation in the future and hope to reach an “agreeable” solution for both police and school officials.

“We don’t want our school grounds being used by Border Patrol to come and pick up our people and take them away,” Lander said.

Students said they began organizing the march late last week after learning of the deportation. They coordinated the march by sending each other text messages and e-mails.

There should be no fear of getting deported when attending school, said Tony Castro, an 18-year-old senior.

“We want to protest so students are allowed to come and get an education,” he said.

They gathered before school Tuesday and made signs, said Mario Portillo, 16, a junior. Catalina Assistant Principal David Berry said the students never came on campus this morning, but assembled in front of the school. By his count, according to Lander, 96 students walked out of the school.

They went to the federal courthouse, Portillo said, to send a message that immigration officials should stay out of schools.

As the students moved toward the building they chanted, “Si se puede” and “We are students, not criminals,” and carried signs that read: “Migra out of our schools.”

School safety officials and Tucson police monitored the students during the protest, said Barbara Flowers, another TUSD spokeswoman. She said the student protest did not have district approval.

TUSD’s regular absence policy will apply to the students, Lander said, explaining that students with notes from their parent or whose parents called to explain the absence will be excused.

There are no attendance numbers for today yet, Lander said, but Catalina has 1,482 students.