DENVER — Some Denver Public Schools families are starting the new school year nervous about potential immigration raids in their communities, according to district officials.
In a back-to-school message sent to families Monday, Denver Public Schools (DPS) emphasized that the district’s priority is the protection of its students. The district also told families that if a government official arrives at a school, staff will follow district guidelines, which prohibit federal immigration law enforcement from entering the district's schools or interfere with the district's transportation routes without a valid search warrant or exigent circumstances.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston also took some time to address community concerns during a back-to-school event recently.
“One of the most important things we’ve been focused on is making sure that every child in Denver feels safe to go to school, go to the hospital, go to church, or participate in any of their community organizations. And so these are all safe locations where there have not been any ICE or raid operations,” he stated.
But despite those reassurances, a district spokesperson told Denver7 they’ve been hearing anecdotally that families are worried about immigration raids for this new school year.
In a first-of-its-kind lawsuit earlier this year, DPS tried to make the case that hat schools have largely avoided being the epicenter of immigration raids for decades, and that the uncertainty of the Trump administration's new directives to ramp up mass deportations was hurting the district.
A federal judge in Denver, however, ruled that the district's request to block federal immigration agents from making arrests at schools and other "sensitive" places was not appropriate, handing a win to the Trump administration. The district ended up dropping their lawsuit in early June.
According to district officials, the protocol for interacting with ICE agents is to treat them like any other visitor. In an e-mail the district spokesperson wrote:
“Agents are treated like every other visitor who comes to a school. They are allowed to be in public school property such sidewalks, but they are not allowed on protected areas such as the playground. Similar to accessing the school building, they must provide proof of a valid reason for accessing protected spaces.”
The DPS spokesperson said the district is also sharing resources with families to answer their questions or alleviate their concerns.
Denver7 reached out to the U.S. Department of Home Security (DHS), the agency under which ICE operates, about those concerns and received the following statement from DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin:
“We are protecting our schools, places of worship, and Americans who attend by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting these locations and taking safe haven there because these criminals knew law enforcement couldn’t go inside under the previous Administration. DHS’s directive gives our law enforcement the ability to do their jobs."
From their part, an ICE spokesperson told Denver7 the agency makes decisions on a case-by-case basis as to where to conduct enforcement operations.
The spokesperson also said ICE does not typically conduct immigration enforcement activities at schools or school buses. And that would only happen if the situation demanded and with previous approval.
If ICE does come in contact with a minor, the spokesperson said ICE agents are required to screen minors to see if they are unaccompanied.
