Will immigration agents carry out arrests and raids at schools?
It鈥檚 a question on the minds of educators in districts and schools with large numbers of immigrant students as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office next month with a pledge to carry out mass deportations.
And it鈥檚 a question that grew more urgent Wednesday following a news report that Trump plans to rescind a longstanding policy that has discouraged immigration agents from carrying out enforcement activities in places considered to be 鈥減rotected areas"鈥攕chools; hospitals; churches; and other places where children gather, such as bus stops, after-school programs, and child care facilities.
as soon as his first day in office. The news organization cited three anonymous sources with knowledge of the plan.
The development comes as the man Trump has tapped to become his border czar, Tom Homan, , indicating that it would first focus on undocumented immigrants who pose a public safety threat. But it鈥檚 unknown how extensive the operation could grow, and how many U.S. students could be affected in some way.
An estimated 5.5 million children lived with an unauthorized immigrant parent in 2019, representing about 7 percent of the U.S. child population, according to the . Of these children, 4.7 million, or 86 percent, were U.S. citizens; 726,000, or 13 percent, were themselves unauthorized.
For more than a decade鈥攊ncluding throughout Trump鈥檚 first administration鈥攕chools and other places where children gather, including bus stops, after-school programs, and child care centers, have been considered 鈥減rotected areas鈥� or 鈥渟ensitive locations鈥� where immigration agents generally can鈥檛 carry out arrests and raids without approval from agency headquarters.
鈥淭o the fullest extent possible, we should not take an enforcement action in or near a location that would restrain people鈥檚 access to essential services or engagement in essential activities,鈥� Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas . 鈥淭his principle is fundamental. We can accomplish our enforcement mission without denying or limiting individuals鈥� access to needed medical care, children access to their schools, the displaced access to food and shelter, people of faith access to their places of worship, and more. Adherence to this principle is one bedrock of our stature as public servants.鈥�
Educators and others who work with immigrants had lately been pointing to the 2021 memo in an attempt to assuage families鈥� fears of the possibility of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers showing up at schools.
But Project 2025鈥攖he Heritage Foundation-led, conservative policy agenda developed by a number of Trump allies and former Trump administration officials鈥�. And now it appears that might be one of the first immigration-related moves of Trump鈥檚 second term鈥攐ne that鈥檚 fully within his purview as an executive branch policy.
Absent that memo, some additional legal protections make schools unique areas with some protection from immigration enforcement. But significant uncertainty remains. It鈥檚 why experts and educators alike say schools should proactively remind staff about school policies on interacting with ICE officials and remind families of their rights鈥攅ven as leaders aren鈥檛 sure of what鈥檚 to come.
The school committee for the Chelsea school district, north of Boston, passed a safe haven resolution in 2017 directing schools not to communicate with immigration officers and to protect student information from federal agents鈥攐nly releasing it with parents鈥� permission or when a judicial warrant or court order compels it.
Following the presidential election, and in response to families鈥� concerns about stepped-up immigration enforcement, the Chelsea school committee is revisiting the resolution for any possible updates, said Superintendent Almi G. Abeyta. Uncertainty about the future of federal immigration policy complicates this work and Abeyta鈥檚 ability as superintendent to calm families鈥� fears.
鈥淲hat I鈥檝e been saying is, 鈥榳e don鈥檛 know, let鈥檚 wait to see what happens, and we can go from there,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e waiting, but we鈥檙e trying to gear up and educate our families and our communities [about their rights] as well.鈥�
A longstanding legal precedent should prevent immigration enforcement at schools, a legal advocate says
Unlike with other locations considered protected areas, immigration enforcement at schools poses a clear constitutional problem, said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF.
That鈥檚 because of the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, which made access to a free, public education a constitutional right regardless of a student鈥檚 immigration status.
鈥淚t would, in our view, be a constitutional violation to engage in immigration enforcement activity at a school. Why? Because doing so would deny the constitutional right to attend school regardless of status,鈥� Saenz said.
Lawyers with MALDEF represented the plaintiffs in the 1982 case鈥攆our families that challenged a Texas school district鈥檚 policy of charging tuition to families that didn鈥檛 provide proof of legal immigration status for their children.
Saenz believes the Plyler decision will remain in place for the foreseeable future both because previous efforts to undermine it have failed and because the decision was incorporated into federal law in 1996.
Still, the Heritage Foundation earlier this year to bring Plyler v. Doe back before the Supreme Court, which today has a 6-3 conservative majority and might be more amenable to overturning it. The think tank recommended that states require school districts to record their students鈥� immigration status and charge tuition for students from undocumented families鈥攁ctions that would directly go against Plyler and likely prompt legal challenges.
However, what precisely will happen in the near future remains uncertain. So Greg Chen, senior director for government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and others advise schools and families to be careful with sensitive information about students and to stay alert.
鈥淲e are entering into a dramatically different era here with the beginning of the second Trump administration, where they have made it crystal clear that they are going to enforce the law and even go beyond the law, likely in many situations,鈥� Chen said.
Chen also noted that federal policy governing how immigration agents do their jobs does not apply to local law enforcement, which includes school resource officers. In many places, outlining how they鈥檒l cooperate with federal immigration agents. Other local governments with immigration authorities.
The National Association of School Resource Officers has not yet shared with school resource officers 鈥渁ny information ... regarding possible changes in immigration policy, nor has it communicated any reminders about existing DHS policy around sensitive/protected locations including schools,鈥� the group said in a statement to 澳门跑狗论坛.
State and local leaders reinforce policies protecting immigrant students
Some districts and at least one state, however, are proactively outlining for school staff how they should handle requests from immigration officers.
What I've been saying is, 'we don't know, let's wait to see what happens, and we can go from there.' We're waiting, but we're trying to gear up and educate our families and our communities [about their rights] as well.
On Dec. 4, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released an on how staff should handle requests from immigration officials鈥攆or example, schools aren鈥檛 compelled to provide ICE agents with access to student records if they only have an administrative warrant as opposed to a warrant signed by a judge, according to the guide. In addition, the guide reminds schools of their obligations under federal law not to release private student information without their parents鈥� consent.
In addition to serving as a reminder of state and federal laws and policies, the guide includes model policies school districts could adopt.
The mass deportation promises from the incoming Trump administration, as well as the possibility that the 鈥減rotected areas鈥� policy could be rescinded, prompted the reminder, according to Bonta鈥檚 office.
鈥淏ecause of this, and because exceptions to the policy exist, local educational agencies should have plans in place in the event that a law-enforcement officer requests information or access to a school site or a student for immigration-enforcement purposes,鈥� the updated guide reads.
Since 2018, California鈥檚 has prohibited school officials and district employees from collecting information or documents addressing the citizenship or immigration status of students or family members. It also requires school districts to adopt policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement.
ImmSchools, a Texas nonprofit that partners with schools in multiple states to create welcoming environments for immigrant students and families, encourages individual districts to establish their own policies addressing what to do regarding immigration enforcement.
The organization partners with school districts in multiple states to offer training for educators so they better understand immigration laws and policies. Among the group鈥檚 main recommendations is that schools direct families to information about their rights, including federal privacy protections for student information including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, said Viridiana Carrizales, ImmSchools鈥� founder and CEO.
鈥淲e need to make sure that our families know what their rights are, so that they know when those rights are being violated,鈥� Carrizales said.
In , Los Angeles, and , school districts have issued advice to building administrators, such as directing school staff to consult with district lawyers before engaging with ICE requests.
In 2020, then-school board member Falio Leyba-Martinez championed a for the Camden district in New Jersey emphasizing that schools are safe spaces for immigrant students and families and that district employees would only help immigration officers if they were legally required to do so.
Now a Camden city councilman, Leyba-Martinez recognizes the resolution cannot guarantee a student鈥檚 protection from immigration enforcement. But it adds a layer of extra security and reassurance in the district to put families at ease.
Leyba-Martinez acknowledges that not all school boards would embrace a similar resolution. But he argues that school board members should recognize that if they serve immigrant families, regardless of their status, such safe zone policies send an important message that their local community values them.
鈥淚 would tell people that want to get this done to put up the fight as big as it is,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e elected onto the school board to represent all of the students, no matter what their status is in this country.鈥�
