Trump allows ICE immigration arrests at schools, worries families

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Like President Donald Trump cracks down on immigrants in the United States illegally, some families wonder if it is safe to send their children to school.

In many districts, educators have sought to reassure immigrant parents that schools are safe places for their children, despite the president’s campaign pledge to carry out mass deportations. But fears were heightened for some when the Trump administration announced Tuesday that it would allow federal immigration agencies to make arrests in schoolschurches and hospitals, ending a policy that had been in place since 2011.

“Oh, dear God! I can’t imagine why they would do that,” said Carmen, an immigrant from Mexico, after hearing that the Trump administration had lifted the policy against arrests in “sensitive locations.”

She took her two grandchildren, ages 6 and 4, to their school Wednesday in the San Francisco Bay Area after school officials assured her it was safe.

“What has helped calm my nerves is knowing that the school stands with us and promised to inform us if it’s not safe at school,” said Carmen, who spoke on the condition that only her first name be used was used, out of fear that she might be targeted. by immigration authorities.

Immigrants across the country have been concerned about Trump’s promise to deport millions of people. While fears of raids did not arise in the early days of the administration, rapid changes in immigration policy have left many confused and uncertain about their future.

Several schools said they fielded calls from concerned parents about rumors that immigration agents would try to enter schools, but it was too early to say whether large numbers of families are to keep their children at home.

Lack of school can deprive students of more than learning. For students from low-income families, including many immigrants, schools are a primary means of access foodpsychiatry and other support.

Tuesday’s move to clear the way for arrests at schools reversed guidance that restricted two federal agencies — Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — from conducting enforcement at sensitive locations. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said, “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.”

Daniela Anello, who heads the DC Bilingual Public Charter School in the nation’s capital, said she was shocked by the announcement.

“It’s terrible,” Anello said. “There is no such thing as hiding someone. It doesn’t happen, hasn’t happened. … It’s ridiculous.”

In the memo rescinding the policy, acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman said it was unnecessary to have “bright line rules” dictating where immigration laws can be enforced. But he said officers should continue to use discretion and “a healthy dose of common sense” about entering sensitive places, such as schools.

An estimated 733,000 children of school age is illegal in the United States, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Many more have US citizenship but have parents who are in the country illegally.

Schools are working to reassure parents

Education officials in some states and districts have vowed to stand up for immigrant students, including theirs right to a public education. In California, officials have reminded schools of state laws that limit local participation in immigration enforcement. New York City schools last month highlighted policies, including one against collecting information about students’ immigration status.

ONE solution passed by the Chicago Public Schools’ Board of Education in November said schools would not help ICE enforce immigration law.

“We’re trying to simplify for our staff, making it clear that we just don’t want to interact with ICE,” District Chief Pedro Martinez said. He said he expected little fallout from a new one The Ministry of Justice’s directive to investigate state or local officials block the federal crackdown on immigration. If federal agents show up at any of Chicago’s 633 schools, he said, they will have to produce a valid court or court order. “Even then, they’re going to have to go through my legal department,” Martinez said.

The district has emphasized to families that school is still the safest place for children. “It’s hard because there’s so much noise,” Martinez said. “There’s just a giant megaphone that we’re fighting against.”

It is not like that everywhere. Many districts have offered no insurance to immigrant families.

Educators at Georgia Fugees Academy Charter School have learned that even students and families in the country are legitimately spooked by Trump’s sweeping proposals to deport millions of immigrants and roll back the rights of non-citizens.

“They’re not even at risk of deportation and they’re still scared,” Chief Operating Officer Luma Mufleh said. Officials at the small Atlanta charter school focused on serving refugees and immigrants expected so many students to miss school the day after Trump took office that educators sped up the school’s exam schedule so students wouldn’t miss important tests.

When asked Tuesday about attendance data, school officials did not feel comfortable sharing it. “We don’t want our school to be targeted,” Mufleh said.

The new school immigration enforcement policy is likely to prompt some immigrant parents who fear deportation to keep their children at home even if they face little risk, said Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights. He said he believes it’s part of the administration’s goal to make life so untenable that immigrants eventually leave the United States on their own.

While many American adults are on board with the idea of ​​doing some targeted deportations, a shift toward arresting people in the country illegally in places like schools would be very unpopularaccording to a study by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It found only about 2 in 10 American adults somewhat or strongly favor arresting children who are in the country illegally while they are in school.

Some parents see school as one of the last safe places

For Iris Gonzalez in Boston, schools seem like almost the only safe place for her to go as someone in the country illegally. She’s had children in Boston schools for nearly a decade, and she doesn’t expect anyone to bother her or her daughters to prove they’re here legally. So her children will continue to go to school. “Education is important,” she said in Spanish.

Gonzalez, who came to the United States illegally from Guatemala 14 years ago, worries about entering a courthouse or driving even though she has a driver’s license. “What if they stop me?” she wonders.

“I’m not sleeping,” she said. “There is a lot of uncertainty about how to look for work, whether to continue driving and what will change.”

Carmen, the Mexican grandmother who now lives in California, said returning home is not an option for her family, which faced threats after her son-in-law was kidnapped two years from their home in the state of Michoacan, an area overrun with drug-trafficking gangs.

Her family arrived two years ago under former President Joe Biden’s program that allowed asylum seekers to enter the United States and then apply for permission to stay. After his inauguration on Monday, Trump promptly close the CBP One app who processed these and other arrivals and has promised to “end asylum” during his presidency.

Carmen has had several hearings on her asylum application, which have not yet been granted.

“My biggest fear is that we have nowhere to go back to,” she said. “It’s about saving our lives. And protect our children.”

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Sophia Tareen contributed reporting from Chicago.

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