Now that immigration officers are no longer discouraged from making arrests or conducting interrogations at schools, bus stops, and child care centers, educators are asking: what now?
On Jan. 21 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security scrapped a 13-year-old immigration enforcement policy on sensitive locations or protected areas, which included schools and related locations.
Regardless of that federal policy change鈥攚hich is one component of President Donald Trump鈥檚 far-reaching efforts to deport people who are in the U.S. unlawfully鈥攊mmigrant students and families, including those who are undocumented, still have rights under U.S. law, legal experts say. That includes the constitutional right to a free, public education as determined by the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Plyler v. Doe case. Student records also remain protected by federal laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Legal experts, immigration advocates, and educators alike say there are a number of things schools can currently do to protect students鈥� and families鈥� rights and ensure their safe access to education.
鈥淭he sensitive locations memo of the Department of Homeland Security is not the thing that made schools safe for children. It is the people in the school building that make schools safe for children,鈥� said Alejandra V谩zquez Baur, co-founder and director of the National Newcomer Network, a coalition of educators, researchers, and advocates who push for equitable education for newcomer students.
鈥淎nd we will continue to do so, not just because it鈥檚 moral, but because it鈥檚 still the law.鈥�
69传媒 can establish, share, and train on immigration protocols, experts say
District leaders can create, update, and release districtwide protocols on how to deal with immigration enforcement officers and communicate any changes to all school leaders, said V谩zquez Baur.
As the Trump administration continues to reshape federal immigration policy, education leaders will need to pay attention to any changes and update their district policy accordingly, she added.
District and school leaders can also train all staff on students鈥� and families鈥� rights under federal law. They can also provide training on steps to follow should U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers request entry to a school or request student information. This includes training school bus drivers, custodial staff, security guards, front desk personnel, and more.
鈥淚t can look like making sure that the district protocol is hung up in visible places in the front [of the school] or that those frontline stakeholders have copies of [the protocols] to show immigration enforcement and to show parents because it signals to parents that this is a safe space and there鈥檚 a protocol in place,鈥� V谩zquez Baur.
Training can cover, for instance, the issue of warrants for entry to school buildings.
In most situations, an ICE agent will likely have an administrative warrant, said Hector Villagra, the vice president of policy advocacy and community education at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. An administrative warrant differs from those that show probable cause of a criminal offense. Administrative warrants aren鈥檛 approved by a judge or magistrate, so it does not authorize the ICE agent to access non-public areas of school grounds or authorize the agent to search school records鈥攎eaning a school official can deny the agent entry to the school or access to records, Villagra said.
If an ICE agent presents a federal warrant signed by a federal judge, then the school should have policies in place to alert the district superintendent, legal counsel for the district, and the parents if a child is implicated in the warrant. School officials should not allow any interrogation of a child until a parent or guardian grants permission, Villagra said.
It鈥檚 important for school staff to know how to distinguish what type of warrant an officer presents, he added.
For instance, if an immigration officer presents a warrant to a janitor at one end of a school campus, that janitor should be trained to direct the officer to the principal鈥檚 office, Villagra said.
But school leaders and staff should immediately contact higher-level administrators or lawyers to assess any documentation from any school area, and that be clearly written into district policy and part of districtwide training, V谩zquez Baur added.
ICE did not respond to EdWeek鈥檚 request for comment prior to publication.
69传媒 should keep students and families informed on changes in policies
Training on immigration protocols, including how to navigate potentially tense interactions with immigration officers, shouldn鈥檛 be limited to school and district staff, said Viridiana Carrizales, founder and chief executive officer of Imm69传媒, based in Texas, which is a nonprofit that provides provides training and workshops on immigration topics for schools.
The week before the federal policy change on sensitive locations, Carrizales led a 鈥渒now-your-rights鈥� presentation for middle school students in the Lone Star state. She reviewed what a sample federal warrant signed by a federal judge looks like. A 7th grader asked to get a photo of the document. He said he has a single father and as the eldest sibling it may fall to him to answer the door at home when his father is at work. He wanted to know under what circumstance he should open the door to an officer.
Imm69传媒 typically offers these presentations and workshops for families but also offers them to children in cases where parents work long hours while the kids are at home, Carrizales said.
She added that she has begun receiving worried messages from administrators, teachers, and families who are taking the federal immigration policy change as a sign that schools must brace for immigration raids.
Missy Testerman, the 2024 Teacher of the Year who works with immigrant students, said in a statement that 鈥減olicies that instill fear also negatively impact an educator鈥檚 ability to work with families. My students have been successful in part due to my ability to engage with their families and communicate information about their academic progress.鈥�
Addressing families鈥� fears of ICE agents coming to schools, and getting ahead of any misinformation around raids and arrests, is another important way for school and district leaders to be supportive, said V谩zquez Baur.
There may be a sudden rise in student absences driven by families鈥� fears about sending their children to school. Education leaders can help assuage those worries, V谩zquez Baur said. Legal experts and advocates urge families to continue to send their children to schools.
鈥淟eaders 鈥� have to take the responsibility of communicating accordingly, sharing the right resources, and then preparing for the worst case scenario and having those preparations in place,鈥� V谩zquez Baur said.
Various organizations including the , the nation鈥檚 largest teachers鈥� union, and the advocacy and research group have all also shared tip sheets and guides with additional suggestions and guidance for schools. State leaders from and have also reiterated schools鈥� responsibilities in protecting students and their data.
