DENVER — A Denver Public Schools (DPS) hearing is scheduled Thursday to discuss labeling all school property as "safe zones" for students, families and staff.
This includes bus stops, transportation and school-sponsored events.
The proposed policy would require United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE )agents and other federal officials to present a warrant before any student can be questioned or detained.
Students at DPS have been contacted by ICE during lunch and dismissal, according to Denver-based advocacy group Movimiento Poder said.
The group called the situation "urgent."
"There is a lot of fear within our communities. Our students are scared to go to school," Berenice Aguirre, Movimiento Poder's interim executive director, said.
DPS already has a policy requiring steps to create a positive and safe place for students, families and staff. The proposed changes would designate all DPS school property as safe zones to establish clear protections for students against federal agents.
It would also stop staff from working with agents unless there is a warrant.
"We are seeing some of our attendance rates decrease, and some of that is due to this fear of having to face federal authorities when they're driving their students to school," DPS Board President Xochitl Gaytan said.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it does not raid or target schools, adding that officers would need secondary approval before action could be taken in a school setting — something the agency said is extremely rare.
“There's accusations that ICE is coming into the schools, and they're going after people in the schools, when the reality was they simply were chasing someone who ended up at a school,” Colorado State Senator Mark Baisley told Denver7.
