Schools Should Be Safe Places for Kids

I’m back after a few days of vacation.

Imagine being a 5-year-old kindergartner, excited to learn and grow. But while you are sitting on the rug waiting for your teacher to read you an after-lunch story, five badged men walk into your classroom and tell you to get up and come with them.

Turns out, those badged men represent the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE for short. They are coming into your classroom today to remove you from school since your parents have been identified as illegal immigrants to the country. You don’t understand any of this.

Does this sound like something that couldn’t happen in an American classroom? If your answer is “yes,” then think again. Whether the Trump administration will resort to invading public schools to execute their expulsion plans remains to be seen, but the new president’s past rhetoric makes one wonder.

But, there are school districts across the country preparing to offer support for immigrant families identified for removal by our government. Once of those districts is the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Last week, EducationWeek’s reporter Ben Chapman wrote about L.A. Unified’s plans to offer guidance and rolled out tools, policies, and proposed legislation to limit federal immigration enforcement:

“Los Angeles school officials have a message for President-elect Donald Trump about his promised immigration crackdown: we’re ready for you.”

“Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who came to the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant from Portugal, said this week the nation’s second largest district is preparing for the incoming administration’s planned mass deportations.”

“The district has begun mandatory training for staff in how to respond if federal immigration officers appear at or nearby schools, Carvalho said, and has produced ‘know your rights’ cards to be distributed to students, with directions on how to behave if approached by immigration agents.”

“But LAUSD can only do so much to combat the fear and anxiety felt by the district’s immigrant families, the superintendent said [last week] at a press conference to discuss the measures.”

“’No child of any age should face that awful, disturbing condition,’ said Carvalho. ‘That is why we’ve created safe spaces in our schools for our students to come together.’”

“Since 2017 LAUSD has had a policy to not voluntarily cooperate with immigration enforcement actions by federal agencies and in November school board members approved a resolution to reaffirm LA Unified’s status as a sanctuary district.”

“School officials do not collect or share information about the immigration status of students and their families, Carvalho said, and federal agents will be denied access to schools unless they possess proper judicial warrants.”

“President-elect Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has promised to begin his second administration with widespread federal enforcement action to remove undocumented people from US cities, possibly with help from the military.”

…

According to the Migration Policy Institute, about 146,000 students enrolled in California public schools are undocumented. Nearly three million children in California have at least one undocumented parent, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty.”

“The Department of Homeland Security designates schools as protected areas where immigration enforcement should be avoided. Federal enforcement action at schools was limited in the first Trump administration.”

“But the president-elect has vowed to step up enforcement in his second term.”

…

“State Attorney General Rob Bonta in December issued guidelines and model policies for how districts can comply with state law limiting state and local participation in federal immigration enforcement. This month he also published guidance for immigrant families in case of contact with federal agents.”

“California lawmakers are also preparing new statutes. One bill introduced in the state assembly last month would inhibit federal immigration agents’ access to schools. Another bill introduced in the state senate would establish a ‘safe zone’ of one mile around campuses.”

“Ana Mendoza, a senior staff attorney at American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and director of the organization’s Education Equity Project, said that such efforts can offer real protection to immigrant students.”

“’Even though immigration enforcement happens in California, the federal government can’t come in and ignore the guardrails, violate due process and do what it wants,’ said Mendoza. ‘The state can protect its citizens from federal government abuse, and individuals can also protect their rights.’”

It’s clear to most people that America’s immigration system needs improvement. But, until that happens, maybe we can agree that public schools aren’t the right place to begin the process of selecting kids and their families for deportation.

Til tomorrow. SVB