For resident Mark Elliott, the specter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entering the public schools is disturbing.
It is so frightening to Elliott that he raised the issue of ICE agents in the schools at the Jan. 22 meeting of the Lawrence Township Public Schools Board of Education.
“(President Donald J. Trump’s) executive order says immigration officers can come into our schools and take kids, basically,” Elliot told the school board. “That’s scary. It bothers me and a lot of people in the community.
“We are not going to have some (ICE) agents coming into the schools. My personal hope is that the school just puts their foot down and says no agents in the school, unless they have a warrant.”
School is supposed to be a place where a child can go to learn, to feel safe and to learn how to become a good citizen, he continued. The prospect of ICE agents in the schools is just the opposite of that belief.
“We knew it was coming down the road, but I really hope you guys get out there in the community and let them know that the schools are there for them,” Elliott said.
After the meeting, Superintendent of Schools Robyn Klim said school district officials are aware of the legal parameters that can be put in place to protect children and their families.
Klim pointed to the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which specifies the information about students that is allowed to be shared, and the context that allows for it to be shared.
State and federal laws prohibit public school districts from denying enrollment on the basis of the child’s or parents’ immigration status.
President Trump announced plans to remove undocumented immigrants from the United States, focusing initially on persons who have been involved in criminal activity.
Under a 2021 memorandum issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, schools were among the “protected areas” that were generally off-limits for immigrant enforcement actions.
But on its second day in office on Jan. 21, the Trump Administration rescinded the previous Biden administration policy and now allows enforcement and arrests in or near protected areas, which includes schools.
In a typical ICE raid, agents may have a list of names of individuals they are seeking to detain, according to published reports in the National Law Journal.
The raids, which are unannounced, also may be targeted toward a particular industry that is known to have large numbers of undocumented employees, such as restaurants and the hospitality, construction, cleaning and agriculture industries, the report said.
Meanwhile, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) offered advice on handling ICE visits to a school.
School districts must honor valid judicial search or arrest warrants, court orders and subpoenas signed by a judge. A copy should be obtained and given to the school district attorney for review before taking any action in response to immigration officials, the NJDOE said.
If an ICE agent seeks to enter school grounds in an official capacity, the superintendent of schools should be contacted immediately. The superintendent is not required to grant access to school grounds without a signed search or arrest warrant issued by a judge, unless it is urgent.
An administrative immigration warrant does not qualify as sufficient to require admittance. An “ICE Warrant for Arrest of Alien” is used by ICE agents, but it is not the same as a warrant issued by a judge.
The Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF) issued its own statement on the Trump administration’s enforcement measures on undocumented immigrants. LALDEF promotes the rights of all immigrants, with a focus on the Latin American community in Mercer County.
Undocumented immigrants in the local community are trying to better understand their rights and to expedite their pathway to citizenship, according to LALDEF’s statement. They have questions, fears and uncertainties about the changes in United States immigration policies and procedures.
“We are experiencing a significant influx of new inquiries, and we anticipate that demand will continue to increase in the weeks and months to come,” said Cecy Jimenez-Weeast, LALDEF’s executive director. “We expect this rapidly changing and highly politicized landscape to challenge us in ways we have not experienced in our past.”
LALDEF will continue to promote the rights of all immigrants and facilitate access to health care, education and legal representation. It will continue to advocate for the integration of immigrants and foster inter-cultural communication, the organization said.
