The words \u201cback to school\u201d can be anxiety-inducing for so many New York students and families, but parents, educators and immigrant advocates say that for many without legal immigration status, the worry is even more pronounced amid the Trump administration\u2019s ongoing immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n
Besides considering what backpacks and notebooks to buy, these parents must necessarily consider some potentially life-altering questions: Can U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents enter local schools? Can schools share information with ICE? And who will care for children whose immigrant parents are unexpectedly detained?<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aThere is trepidation in immigrant communities and increased stress, knowing that, last year and [during] the summer even, students have been detained following immigration hearings,\u201d said Katie Kurjakovic, the English language learner specialist at the United Federation of Teachers, the main labor union for New York City teachers.<\/p>\n
There have been fewer than a half-dozen reported cases of immigrant New York City public school students being detained by ICE \u2014 often following court hearings, and not on school premises \u2014 since President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20 and ramped up immigration arrests and deportation.<\/p>\n
But the pace of ICE enforcement actions has picked up this summer<\/a>, as the administration began targeting immigrants leaving court hearings.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what parents without legal immigration status should know as the new school year is set to launch, according to policy experts, educators and immigrants\u2019 rights lawyers.<\/p>\n Should immigrant parents continue to send their children to school?<\/b><\/p>\n The universal guidance from educators and others is yes. Specifically, the city’s Department of Education is encouraging parents to keep their children enrolled, despite immigration enforcement fears.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to reassure all families: Our schools are safe, welcoming places, and we encourage you to continue sending your children to school, where they are cared for and valued,\u201d department spokesperson Nicole Brownstein said in a statement.<\/p>\n Every child has a right to a public school education, regardless of their immigration status, according to long-standing U.S. Supreme Court precedent<\/a>. Under New York state law, all state residents have the right to attend public school between the ages of 5 and 21.<\/p>\n Students also have a right to receive translation and interpretation services, if needed, and free breakfast and lunch as well, according to Diana Aragundi, assistant director of the Immigrant Students\u2019 Rights Project at the nonprofit Advocates for Children.<\/p>\n Can we expect to see ICE agents showing up at schools?<\/b><\/p>\n The second Trump administration said early on that it would no longer treat schools, hospitals and courthouses as \u201csensitive locations\u201d off-limits to immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n While reports<\/a> have emerged of ICE attempting to enter public schools in California, there have been no documented incidents of ICE officers seeking entry into city public school buildings, according to the education department.<\/p>\n ICE will only be allowed to enter public schools \u201cwhen absolutely required by law,\u201d according to the city Department of Education website<\/a>. In practice, that means that ICE officers are generally excluded from entering public schools unless they present a judicial warrant or in rare emergency circumstances \u2014 which Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos has echoed in her public statements<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to be very clear \u2014 our policies have not changed,\u201d Aviles-Ramos said in a video posted on the social media platform X in February. \u201cAs always, non-local law enforcement is NOT permitted in any of our school buildings without a judicial warrant or unless there are exigent circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n Under education department protocol<\/a>, when ICE agents show up to a school, security guards should immediately alert the school principal and ask the agent to wait outside the building. Principals are supposed to contact the school’s legal counsel before proceeding further.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aIn the school building, students should feel confident that they are receiving protection from the school district,\u201d said Emma Hulse, an education attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union. \u201c\u200aThere are ways that they could improve their protocol, but people should feel confident that going to school is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Are schools allowed to divulge students\u2019 immigration status?<\/b><\/p>\n Schools cannot ask about a child\u2019s or parent\u2019s immigration status or Social Security number, according to the state Education Department<\/a>. And if a school staff member learns about someone\u2019s immigration status, they must keep it confidential, according to the city Department of Education.<\/p>\n Federal law<\/a> generally prohibits schools from releasing personal information \u2014 such as a student\u2019s name, address, or place of birth \u2014 without parental consent. ICE officers can only access a student’s confidential information if they have a signed judicial warrant or a subpoena, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union<\/a>.<\/p>\n And even if ICE does have a subpoena for student information, \u200athe school district is required to notify the parent to give them an opportunity to challenge the release of data, according to Hulse, from NYCLU.<\/p>\n What other precautions should parents take?<\/b><\/p>\n Parents are advised to keep their children’s emergency contacts up to date. If a child isn\u2019t picked up from school \u2014 including in the case of a parent\u2019s detention by ICE \u2014 the school will attempt to reach people listed as emergency contacts, according to the DOE. Immigrant advocates and school leaders recommend parents update their children\u2019s emergency contact information, adding names and telephone numbers of trusted adults who can lend assistance.<\/p>\n \u201dIt seems like a very minor thing,\u201d said Aragundi, from Advocates for Children. \u201cBut we just remind families that it’s still an important piece of information that we can share with schools. And it\u2019s important to keep it updated.\u201d<\/p>\n Schools will usually request that parents update this information at the start of the year. It\u2019s also possible to update this information by visiting a school office.<\/p>\n Aragundi also recommended that parents consider reaching out to their schools before they have an immigration hearing or appointment where they fear they might be detained. In that case, the Department of Education might be able to connect the family with legal help and other resources.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we hear about a family that is being detained, we have \u2014 with their permission \u2014 connected them with community and agency partners who can offer legal support and other resources,\u201d Brownstein, from the city’s education department, said in a statement.<\/p>\n How can parents legally prepare in case they are detained by ICE?<\/b><\/p>\n Immigrant parents can designate someone to make decisions for their children, or act as a temporary guardian of their children, in case they are detained or deported. Without such designations, children may end up in foster care if their parents are detained, according to attorneys.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of time people don\u2019t think about safety planning until it\u2019s too late,\u201d said Julie Babayeva, supervising attorney at the New York Legal Assistance Group\u2019s LegalHealth Unit. \u201c\u200aWe want to make sure that everyone is considering doing this before there’s a real necessity\u2026when people are actually facing that detention or deportation.\u201d<\/p>\n Parents can officially designate another trusted adult as a \u201cperson in parent relation,\u201d allowing that person to make educational and some medical decisions about their children for a limited time period.<\/p>\n Parents may also name a \u201cstandby guardian,\u201d who is given temporary authority to care for their children, in case the parent is arrested, detained, or deported. Immigrant adults may also designate an agent under a \u201cpower of attorney,\u201d who can access their finances.<\/p>\n To make such designations, Babayeva recommends consulting with an attorney, or calling her organization\u2019s hotline at 212-659-6188.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aPotentially preparing families for the fact that they might be separated in the future is horrific and, and heartbreaking,\u201d said Luis Mancheno, citywide director of immigrant justice at Legal Services New York City. \u201cBut I would encourage immigrant families to have the courage to take these steps. It’s better to take these steps and make sure that they are the best prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n Mancheno\u2019s group also offers \u201cfamily preparedness\u201d clinics where attorneys will help families file documents for standby guardianship and walk them through their options. Those interested in joining can call LSNYC at 917-661-4500.<\/p>\n This article was updated with additional information about services made available to students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The words \u201cback to school\u201d can be anxiety-inducing for so many New York students and families, but parents,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":175664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-175663","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115092247586260134","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}