Sanctuary Evanston member Jacqueline Mendoza greeted the state Safe Schools for All Act with “relief” after it was signed last week outside a Chicago school by Gov. JB Pritzker. It is intended to guarantee students in Illinois public schools the right to education regardless of their immigration status.

“This is like a relief for us,” Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) and Sanctuary Evanston member Jacqueline Mendoza told the Evanston RoundTable in an interview. Sanctuary Evanston is a branch of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Evanston as a ‘Welcoming City’

The law, which Pritzker signed outside a Chicago school last week, comes as the Trump administration has orchestrated a crackdown on immigration across the country. In June, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took a man into custody in Evanston, and in July, ICE took another man into custody in Skokie.

Evanston passed a “Welcoming City Ordinance” in 2016, and it has been updated since. The federal government also placed Evanston on a list of cities “defying federal immigration law” as a result of the city’s sanctuary policy. Illinois also has a state-level sanctuary law, known as the TRUST Act, which generally prohibits local law enforcement agencies from assisting in federal civil immigration enforcement. 

Safe Haven schools

Mendoza told the RoundTable that COFI members had brought up concerns about the safety of kids in schools. She specifically cited concerns about information and data privacy. 

Both Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and Evanston School District 202 are Safe Haven School Districts. Neither district asks for student or family immigration statuses, and they are never asked to provide documentation regarding their immigration status. 

In a statement to the RoundTable, District 65 spokesperson Hannah Dillow wrote that the district “remain[s] committed to providing a safe, welcoming environment for all students regardless of immigration status.” District 65 has compiled information and resources that are available for families online. 

Mendoza, who has a son in District 65, said she knows teachers and staff in the district are “very concerned” and involved in efforts to protect immigrant communities in Evanston. 

“So I trust that they’re doing everything they possibly, humanly can to make sure that our immigrant children and parents, grandparents … feel that that’s a safe environment,” she said. 

Mendoza, who grew up in eastern Tennessee, said that she saw children and parents who would rather go hungry or stay in abusive relationships than potentially be reported for their immigration status.

“I believe education is a right,” she said. “Our kids deserve to know how to read, how to do their own financial budget …. education impacts us in every single aspect of our lives.”

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