Pennsylvania ACLU pushes schools to block immigration enforcement

(The Center Square) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is asking school leaders in the state to resist federal immigration enforcement agency actions on school grounds after the Trump administration rescinded guidance preventing enforcement efforts near schools.

While While President Donald Trump’s directives would allow ICE agents to enter school property, there have been no reported cases of them doing so to date.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania requested school superintendents, CEOS and directors in a letter this week to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents from entering schools, accessing information or having contact with students or staff.

At one point in the letter, the organization recommended a resource showing how a student could be represented by someone who is not a legal guardian in case their parents were deported and they were separated from their family.

Several school districts in the state and nationally have said they would not comply with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement push to deport families it says are in the country illegally.

Pittsburgh Public Schools says on a page titled “immigrant families” that it “serves more than 1,000 English Language Learners, including a growing number of refugee students. We recognize that many families in our community may face concerns related to their ethnicity, immigration status, or citizenship.”

The school said it does not ask about immigration status and does not share a student’s educational records without the consent of a student’s parent or guardian.

“Any requests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to access student information or school grounds will be reviewed by the District’s Law Department and the Office of the Superintendent,” Pittsburgh Public School’s webpage reads. “ICE officials will not be granted access to any students without prior approval from the Law Department, which will require all relevant documentation.”

The ACLU’s letter said school staff should create protocols for staff to direct requests from ICE to the school district’s superintendent and legal staff. It also said to check the kinds of warrants used by immigration agents.

“ICE typically does not use judicial warrants,” the ACLUE’s letter reads. “Instead, ICE commonly relies on administrative warrants, signed by an immigration officer or immigration judge. Unlike judicial warrants, administrative warrants do not give ICE agents authority to enter areas of school property that are not otherwise open to the public.”

“To enter those places (absent a judicial warrant), ICE would need the school’s consent, which school officials have no legal obligation to give,” it continues.

The ACLU also included a model resolution and policy school districts could implement to make it more difficult for federal immigration agents to reach students. Wilkinsburg School District recently adopted such a resolution “affirming its commitment to a safe and support school environment for all students, regardless of immigration status.”

The letter says schools cannot ask about immigration status and recommends school security officers not be allowed to view student records unless required.

The ACLU’s letter also says school leaders should tell families about a state law that “allows a non-parent with whom the child is living to enroll the student in school and act as the student’s education decision maker, even if the nonparent does not have legal guardianship of the child.”

“While this form should not be submitted unless custodial parent(s) are unavailable, families should consider the option and their preferred designation in advance,” the letter reads.

Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s “border-czar,” told The Washington Post that federal authorities would try to deport families together and leave it up to them concerning whether they would separate.

“Here’s the issue,” Homan told the Post. “You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child. So you put your family in that position.”

• This story first published at Chalkboard News which, like The Center Square, is published by the Franklin News Foundation