California Education Leaders React To New ICE Guidelines Allowing Them to Enter Schools, Churches

California education leaders continued to react to the Trump Administration’s announcement earlier this week that ICE would be allowed to make arrests at schools, which were considered by previous administrations as “sensitive” spaces for illegal immigrants.

Upon taking office on Monday, President Donald Trump signed seven executive orders pertaining to illegal immigration, undoing many Biden-era policies and going after birthright citizenship. This was followed up by several individual agency announcements on Tuesday, adding even more changes to illegal immigration policy. This included new parameters for ICE enforcement, allowing them to go into “sensitive” areas including churches and school in order to make arrests. The new ICE changes reversed 14 years of policy that was originally passed in 2011 during the Obama administration.

“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country,” said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday. “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.

“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country. This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration. This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis.”

Some of these changes have already received resistance. California was one of 18 states to legally challenge the birthright order earlier this week, with a Washington state federal judge putting a temporary restraining order on the executive order on Thursday while the case is being decided on in the courts. However, the new ICE enforcement parameters have not been blocked, leading to increased worry for illegal immigrant families over a greater chance of arrest and deportation.

At the state and local level, there has been some resistance in California.

“Schools must be safe spaces, not sites of fear,” said Alex Traverso, director of communications of the California Board of Education on Tuesday. “Every child deserves to learn without intimidation, and California will do all we can to protect our students.”

Attorney General Rob Bonta has been more forceful on his opposition. According to Bonta, immigration agents cannot enter a school without a judicial warrant. He has further hinted that the new ICE parameters could see a lawsuit over it in the near future.

“It is disappointing, but unfortunately unsurprising that President Trump, in his first days in office, is focusing his time and energy on making his inhumane and irresponsible mass deportation agenda a reality,” said Bonta. “My team is actively reviewing his executive orders, and we stand ready to defend the rights of Californians if we find that the President has in any way violated the law — starting with our lawsuit, filed today, challenging the President’s unconstitutional executive order on birthright citizenship.”

Bonta’s assurances have trickled down to local school districts and law enforcement departments across the state, with illegal immigration enforcement essentially being stopped at the doors of schools.

“Our policy is clear and strong that immigration enforcement is not allowed on our campuses unless forced through a valid court order,” said Fresno Unified School District Spokeswoman Diana Diaz on Wednesday. “We’ve been in communication with local law enforcement who has assured us that they will not be supporting immigration enforcement across any of our schools.”

No sanctuary for schools, churches

Two of the largest school districts in the state, Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD) and San Francisco Unified (SFUSD) have restated their status as sanctuary areas as well. In addition, entire counties have said that, regardless of immigration status, all children in the school have a right to a public education. Many places catering to migrants are likewise worried about them skipping school, skipping going to the doctor, and other needed reasons to leave home, as they fear the greater risk and being arrested by ICE.

“In light of the new administration’s action today to overturn the sensitive locations policy, I want to reassure our education community that the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) remains steadfastly committed to ensuring that every student, regardless of their immigration status, has access to a safe, secure and nurturing learning environment,” said Los Angeles County Superintendent of schools Debra Duardo. “The change to the policy does not overrule the student’s constitutional right to an education. It also does not overrule state constitutional protections. It is important to reinforce that all students possess the right to a public education, independent of their immigration status. Our schools are mandated to ensure that no student is denied enrollment or faced with barriers to their educational opportunities based on their or their family’s immigration status.”

However, despite all these local and state level assurances, the ICE expansion has not been legally halted as of Thursday night, meaning that places that are trying to stop ICE agents from going in are in a legally gray area. Many locales are even choosing to ignore Bonta and allow federal immigration officials into churches and schools anyway, similar to how cities like Huntington Beach are now ignoring state level sanctuary laws. And, even if enforced, ICE simply has to wait until illegal immigrants leave those places, where they can be detained in public areas outside schools or churches.

“The worst case scenario here is that they are just delaying the inevitable by a few hours,” said Frank Ma, a former law enforcement official who now works as a security advisor for businesses in San Francisco and cities in the Peninsula, to the Globe on Thursday. “Schools can try, but eventually they will have to close for the day and those inside who are being sought by ICE will be apprehended. And instead of getting it over in an area not seen by the public outside, ICE will just arrest them after a stressful wait outside in a public area. So, good job schools and churches. You just made their life worse. ICE has all day to wait.

“And don’t forget, they already have judicial warrants in many cases, especially criminal ones. That little paper sign saying “ICE cannot enter” will not stop them, and neither will any school official or secretary or anyone else inside. I have seen joint task forces steamroll right into  buildings past secretaries and others trying to get them to stop to no avail.

“In most cases, this is done nicely. Police come in, explain the situation. Then a school administrator gets the student or students in question out of class to a back office, usually the principal’s or vice principal’s. There there will be some questioning and then an arrest or two. Big raids don’t happen unless it is an extreme circumstance, not many officers are involved unless many people are going to be arrested or detained, and it is usually pretty quiet.

“This resistance to ICE is going to change that up a bit, so really, the schools are making it worse for the students inside. And in churches, everyone inside. All this resistance to the schools and churches. All it does is delay the inevitable.”