ICE unlikely to target Western Slope schools, advocates say — but districts are staying prepared

For the first time in 14 years, immigration agents are no longer explicitly discouraged from making arrests on school grounds — a Trump administration decision that has sent a chilling effect throughout Colorado classrooms.

Though state public school leaders and advocacy groups say public schools haven’t been targeted and likely won’t be, many are still training their staff on how to respond to potential visits from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“It is a situation where things are changing rapidly,” Sophia Mayott-Guerrero, interim director of advocacy and strategic alliances for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, told the Aspen Times.

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The newly inaugurated president signed a slew of executive actions during his first week in office — one of which revoked a policy that previously kept immigration agents from making arrests in schools, with limited exceptions.

The policy — implemented in 2011 and revoked on Jan. 21 — placed restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents’ ability to conduct arrests at “sensitive locations” like schools, child care centers, hospitals and churches.

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While the revocation of the policy was disappointing to many immigration advocacy groups, it didn’t come as a surprise to them since the Trump administration made campaign promises to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Immigration advocacy groups have argued that allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to make arrests in sensitive locations will cause immigrants to keep their children home from school or avoid seeking necessary medical treatment out of fear. The policy change has spurred some Colorado lawmakers into action. 

U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet joined 19 other senators on Feb. 10 to propose the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which would reinstate the Department of Homeland Security’s policy preventing arrests in sensitive locations. The bill would also expand the protected locations to include courthouses and additional health care, educational and religious facilities.

Colorado educators prepare for unlikely ICE visits

The federal government’s revocation of the sensitive locations policy “does not affect a school’s own legal rights regarding who enters their property,” according to a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado to superintendents.

Some Colorado school districts have established policies barring federal immigration agents from entering school premises without a judicial warrant — as constitutionally supported by the Fourth Amendment.

“There’s a difference between immigration warrants — which are a piece of paper produced by an immigration office and signed by an immigration agent — versus an actual judicial warrant, where law enforcement has to go before a judge with evidence and probable cause typically regarding criminal activities,” said Karen McCarthy-Hoyt, the founder of Colorado immigration law firm Elevation Law. 

While the law firm does not represent any particular school district, McCarthy-Hoyt said the firm has responded to questions from education officials about Trump’s new policies.

As a general practice, Colorado school districts don’t track the immigration status of their students. Any available student information is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which does not make exceptions for ICE agents who may be seeking restricted student information without parental consent or a court order.

Superintendent Tony Byrd said the Summit School District has collaborated with neighboring districts and immigration advocacy organizations like immigration nonprofit Mountain Dreamers to prepare for a potential visit from immigration services — which he said has not happened in his district.

District protocol dictates that if federal immigration agents show up at one of their schools, they will be asked to present a judicial warrant before being let into the building — a protocol also practiced by Eagle County Schools and others across the state. Even if the agents have an administrative warrant, Byrd said the agents will not be allowed into the school and will instead be asked to speak to the superintendent.

“We’ve trained all of our staff on those protocols for any piece of school property: front door of a school, bus stop, bus, athletic game — whatever it might be,” he said. “We’re making sure that every family knows their rights.”

Mesa County Valley School District Superintendent Brian Hill said his staff is trained to ask any law enforcement officials for proper documentation when visiting a school. District Director of Security Andy Means’ preparation for policy changes under the Trump administration has consisted of proactively communicating with Homeland Security Investigations and ICE about any potential visits.

“The protocols I’ve set up with them say that if they ever had to come to our schools, they would contact me first … so our schools aren’t disrupted,” Means said.

‘They’re not going after students’

Leaders in both the education and advocacy sides say Colorado schools have not been — and very likely will not be — targeted by immigration enforcement.

“Even though that (sensitive locations) order has been rescinded, there is no plan for them to go to schools,” Means said. “They’re not going after students. They’re not going after migrant families. They’re truly going after the criminal element.”

Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, said he is aware of instances where ICE has detained immigrants without criminal convictions because they were present during raids aimed at apprehending suspected criminals, according to previous reporting by NBC News.

As of now, Mesa schools have not encountered any immigration officials at their doors, Hill said.

“(Colorado superintendents) were all communicating with one another recently and asking that exact question of, ‘Has anybody had any interactions?'” Hill said on Feb. 4. “There’s 178 school districts. I didn’t get 178 responses in that email thread, but it was a lot of responses, and not a single one said that they’d had any interactions at their schools last week.” 

Of all the locations included in the now-rescinded sensitive locations policy, schools are likely among the safest for students and their families, Mountain Dreamers Executive Director Peter Bakken told the Aspen Times.

“I worry probably more about hospitals than anywhere else, because I really don’t see immigration going into schools or churches,” Bakken said. “I think that the public backlash against that would be severe from almost every part of this society. But it’s already having a chilling effect — there’s no question.”

Part of the chilling effect, Bakken added, has come from inflammatory disinformation on social media. When false information is disseminated, Mountain Dreamers works with local authorities to verify information and dispel rumors on its social media.

“We are really trying to send the message that (parents) shouldn’t be afraid of sending their kids to school,” Bakken said. “School is the best place for the kids and a safe place, and I think that the districts up here are working really hard to keep it like that.”

Combined with the Feb. 5 deportation raids conducted in Denver and Aurora, people are on edge now more than ever — as evidenced by the heightened number of phone calls McCarthy-Hoyt said Elevation Law received early February.

Mayott-Guerrero said there is a nervousness in nearby communities that their neighborhoods could be next, but that the organization “doesn’t actually have any specific reports or specific reason to believe that the next (raid) is going to be in a mountain town.”

“I think that the majority of people who are posting things that aren’t right about where ICE has been are trying to be helpful, but it’s freaking folks out, particularly in Colorado,” she said. “There’s a lot of misinformation that happens about rural America.”

Facing the topic of deportation inside the classroom

In addition to training their educators and security personnel on how to handle visits from immigration agents, a fast-emerging question is how teachers should respond to questions from students — whether it be children wanting to know why their friends aren’t showing up to class, or students who confide in their teachers that they’re afraid their parents could be deported.

“To be honest, it’s a range,” Byrd said. “On one (hand), what are the legal aspects of this and what are the protocols that we have? The other is more complicated, which is, how do you work with kids that are concerned and how do you deal with the conflicts?”

First and foremost, Bakken said, teachers should avoid projecting their fears or political opinions onto students and instead follow their individual district’s policy on how to respond to students.

“I don’t know personally how to respond to those questions,” Bakken said. “(Parents) are always concerned that teachers not transmit their anxieties or fears to the kids, or discuss topics with them that maybe parents would prefer to not discuss with them.”

“Know Your Rights” cards are actively being distributed by districts and law firms in Colorado. Both Hill and Byrd have advised families to update their personal and emergency information on Powerschool.

“Short version, we’ve got your back,” Byrd said. “We will do everything within the legal possibilities to ensure that ICE does not enter schools without following our policies and the law.”