State, local officials plan for potential immigration enforcement at schools

by Shalina Chatlani, Florida Phoenix
February 9, 2025

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents fan out across the country to conduct high-profile migrant arrests that President Donald Trump has called for, local and state officials are developing their own directives to support — or possibly thwart — potential ICE visits to public schools.

The Trump administration announced last month that it would reverse guidance in place since 2011 that restricted migrant arrests at “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals, and places of worship.

In 2022, the most recent numbers available, there were about 850,000 children in the country illegally, according to the Pew Research Center. Long-standing federal policy from the U.S. Department of Education — backed by the U.S. Supreme Court — says that all children, regardless of their or their parents’ immigration status, are entitled to public elementary and secondary education.

Nevertheless, conservative states have signaled their willingness to cooperate with ICE.

“Florida schools will cooperate with all law enforcement working to enforce the nation’s laws on illegal immigration and keep our schools safe,” Sydney Booker, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education, told the Tallahassee Democrat.

In Alabama, State Superintendent Eric Mackey on Thursday released a statement that urged districts to “just keep having school,” while reminding them that badged law enforcement “should always be welcomed onto our campuses” once their identity is confirmed. The statement did not say officers need a warrant.

And Oklahoma’s Board of Education last week voted to recommend a proposal that would require parents to report their and their child’s immigration status or provide proof of citizenship when enrolling them in public schools. The proposal, first pitched by Republican Superintendent Ryan Walters, now goes to the legislature.

In a statement released last week, Walters said “schools are crippled” by illegal immigration. Oklahoma would let ICE agents into schools, according to the statement, “because we want to ensure that deported parents are reconnected with their children and keep families together.”

Limits on ICE

Meanwhile, in Democratic-leaning states, officials are trying to remind school leaders of the limits of ICE’s authority.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state attorney general — both Democrats — along with the state education commissioner released a memo saying they “reaffirm that schools should remain a safe haven where all students are welcomed and provided a free public education.” Generally speaking, the memo says, law enforcement officers cannot interrogate or remove a student from school property without parental consent, unless they have a signed judicial warrant or other legal order.

Illinois’ State Board of Education released guidance urging local districts to develop processes for handling any ICE requests. Oregon’s Board of Education released guidance detailing the state’s sanctuary law, and how school leaders might respond to a visit or questions from law enforcement.

At the local level, some schools have already started creating their own policies. A group of public charter schools in Denver and Aurora, Colorado, said it would “avoid releasing any student to ICE without clear legal requirement to do so.”

Several state and local jurisdictions, including Chicago, made it clear to parents that ICE agents must have a judicial warrant, signed by a judge, to be admitted to a school. The system “WILL NOT admit ICE agents into our schools based upon an administrative warrant, an ICE detainer, or other document issued by an agency enforcing immigration law,” the district said in a letter to families.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has distributed “Know Your Rights” cards to help families know what they are required or not required to tell immigration officials. The Los Angeles School Police Department has also vowed that it will not engage in or assist with immigration enforcement activities.

Thomas Homan, acting director of ICE, told CNN last week that his agency would not routinely raid schools, churches, and hospitals but that “there is no safe haven for public safety threats and national security threats.”

Resources limited

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, has told federal lawmakers it lacks billions in funding, resources, and beds necessary to carry out a mass deportation campaign.

Amid the uncertainty, some parents have pulled their children out of school, said Viridiana Carrizales, the founder and CEO of Texas-based ImmSchools, a nonprofit that partners with school districts in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas to make them more welcoming to immigrant students.

“We have seen and have heard from districts that we are partnering with that, yes, they have seen a drop in attendance and that they have also seen families starting to withdraw their children from school,” Carrizales said.

“We want to make sure that kids continue to go to school. And if families don’t see schools as safe places, that is definitely going to impact that.”

Adriana Rivera, communications director at the Florida Immigrant Coalition, an immigration advocacy organization, echoed those concerns.

“Having children exposed to the possibility — no matter their immigration status — that they could be racially profiled or targeted sends chills down parents’ spines, and rightfully so.”

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