At least eight large public school districts across the United States have vowed in recent days to try to protect undocumented immigrant students and their families from President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push. The Trump administration has removed restrictions that prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement from conducting raids at so-called sensitive locations, including schools (as well as houses of worship and hospitals). All children in the United States, according to the Education Department, are entitled to a public education, regardless of their “immigration status,” allowing public school districts to largely avoid asking about or keeping records of their pupils’ standing with immigration laws.
But Trump’s latest actions to roll back sensitive locations has led to increased fears among teachers and families, whose school districts are now trying to somehow soften the blows that could come from the changes in policy. That has been the case especially in big, blue-leaning cities with large populations of undocumented immigrants that already have sanctuary policies in effect — laws that seek to prevent or limit local officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities as part of broader efforts to make undocumented immigrants feel safe. A number of large public school districts in those cities have pledged to complicate the efforts by either muddling cooperation with or refusing to report information to federal immigration authorities and by making it harder for authorities to enter school grounds.
On the more forceful end are Chicago and Denver, whose large public school districts have issued guidance in recent weeks that urges officials to prevent immigration officials from entering school grounds or to set high bars for entry. In a statement last week, Chicago Public Schools said that under the city’s sanctuary city laws — known as its Welcoming City Ordinance — “ICE agents are not permitted access to CPS facilities unless they provide their credentials, the reason they are requesting access, and a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge.” “CPS will not admit ICE agents based upon an administrative warrant, an ICE detainer, or other document issued by an agency enforcing civil immigration law,” the statement said.
Chicago Public Schools added in the statement that “while the District understands there is an executive order to rescind language about ‘sensitive locations,’ including schools,” district officials would refuse to “share private” information with ICE. Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero issued specific guidance this month that advised school officials to refuse entry to government officials who arrive at school buildings who do not have “business” or an “appointment” at the school.
“If a government official arrives at your school requesting information or entry and they are not an individual who has an appointment or business with anyone at the school, do not allow entry,” Marrero’s guidance said. Officials are directed to then place the school on a secure lockdown procedure and communicate with the government officials over the intercom. The guidance said that school staff members, in situations when the government officials have already entered the building, must make sure they stay in the front office and then must place the school on lockdown. School officials are directed to ask for a warrant or a court order. Whether one is provided or not, the government agents are to be directed to the district’s lawyers, according to the guidance. The guidance, however, also directs school officials to “not physically impede, interfere with or obstruct a government official in performing their duties.”
While the guidance was issued before Trump rolled back sensitive location procedures, Marrero said in a second statement Friday that “the guidance was developed with” that move “in mind.” Denver Public Schools spokesperson Scott Pribble said in an interview Monday that the posture with ICE agents, however, was “really no different than what we do with anybody who shows up at a school door — we make sure that they have an appointment or they have school business, and if they don’t, we keep them outside.” “We’re doing the same thing with any government official that shows up,” Pribble said. Some of the largest school districts in New York, including New York City Public Schools and several districts in Westchester County, have circulated guidance in recent days from Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats, that directs school officials to “not allow officers inside school property to access a student except to address an imminent safety situation or where required by law due to a judicial warrant or order.”
Responding to questions from NBC News about the cities’ approaches, a White House spokesperson wrote in an email, “By ending the absurd policy of exempting many locations from enforcement of the law — and giving criminal illegal aliens places to hide and avoid arrest — this action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and make our country safer; it is NOT a directive to go into schools and churches.” The spokesperson said that “secondary supervisor approval is also needed before any action can be taken in locations such as a church or school,” adding that “we expect these situations to be extremely rare.” Asked whether any immigration raids had occurred on any public school grounds since Trump took office, the spokesperson said that “no enforcement operations have occurred at schools or churches.”
As of Monday evening, there had not been any public reports of any immigration raids on public school grounds. Chicago Public Schools initially claimed Friday that immigration agents went to a school. However, it quickly emerged that the agents were actually with the Secret Service, not ICE, as district officials initially said, and they were investigating a threat over the TikTok ban — not an immigration matter. Viridiana Carrizales, a co-founder of ImmSchools, a nonprofit organization that trains schools in student rights and how to navigate encounters with immigration officials, said her team has received over 100 inquiries from schools across the country seeking guidance on how to deal with the Trump administration’s change to the sensitive locations policy.
“It is not a scenario of if; we know that immigration will come to our schools,” Carrizales said. “So there’s been a lot of inquiries and a lot of requests from school districts.” Meanwhile, guidance within other large districts in the United States focused more specifically on reminding school officials that they are not obligated to provide any requested information about their students — although some ultimately indicated they would cooperate with ICE agents who arrive at public schools. In response to questions from NBC News, Monique Braxton, a spokesperson for the School District of Philadelphia, shared a guidance document Monday that had been sent to school leaders to be “followed if an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent requests access to a school building and asks to detain or interview a student for immigration enforcement purposes.”
The guidance directed school officials in those situations to notify district lawyers of the situations, obtain documentation from the agents, “wait for further direction” from the school district’s attorneys and formulate school crisis response plans with the district’s Office of Prevention and Intervention. The plan says school officials must not provide any information about a student’s family or immigration status unless directed to by district lawyers. In a statement to NBC News, School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said, “The District will comply with required laws, and school leaders have been provided guidance about how to protect our immigrant students’ rights,” adding that he sought to “reaffirm the School District of Philadelphia’s commitment to creating safe, welcoming spaces for our students and families.” Recent guidance issued by the Salt Lake City School District said the district would refuse to share information regarding any student’s immigration status with federal agents.
Meanwhile, the superintendent of the Canutillo Independent School District, a public school district in El Paso, Texas, said in a statement on the district’s website, titled “Safe Haven,” that the district “will continue its strong partnership with ICE and other law enforcement agencies” while expressing “concerns about how changes in immigration policy could ripple through communities like ours.” Superintendent Pedro Galaviz said in a statement over the weekend that partnerships with ICE “have been instrumental in maintaining the safety and security of our campuses” but that “our commitment to safety will never come at the expense of our students’ rights or their access to effective teaching and learning.” “Regardless of their circumstances, we are committed to providing stability, reassurance and support,” he added.
