NYCLU, Make the Road NY Urge NYC Schools to Protect Immigrant Students
Open letter suggests steps as Trump plans end of ICE’s sensitive locations policy
NEW YORK, NY – Today the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and Make the Road New York (MRNY) sent a letter to New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos urging her to take immediate, decisive steps to better protect immigrant students, school facilities, and school records against potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement actions. This action follows President-Elect Trump’s recently announced plans to end restrictions on ICE arrests at sensitive locations, such as schools, places of worship, and hospitals.
Recommendations include strengthening protocols against non-local law enforcement’s access to school facilities and student records, codifying the updated protocol as regulation, and swiftly training school administrators, student safety agents, and other school staff to enforce the protocol properly.
“All young people in New York have the right to attend school, no matter their immigration status or their family’s,” said Johanna Miller, Director of the Education Policy Center at the NYCLU. “Immigrant students and families are facing increasingly dangerous threats, both nationally and statewide, making children afraid of going to school. As the nation’s largest and most diverse public school system, it’s imperative that New York City take immediate steps to boldly and unapologetically protect all students’ rights to an education.”
“Every student, regardless of immigration status, deserves to feel safe in school,” Dali Alban, NYC Public School student and member of Make the Road New York. “As the new Trump administration is just days away from taking office, Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos must step up and protect all NYC students. While anti-immigrant policies threaten our classmates and our families, the Chancellor must strengthen protocols to ensure that ICE cannot enter our schools, inflict fear in our classrooms, and try to tear us apart from our communities and our loved ones.”
Proposed steps for strengthening the non-local law enforcement protocols include:
- Clarify that NYCPS will not grant ICE access to school facilities in the absence of a judicial warrant, given that ICE administrative warrants do not have the same legal force as valid judicial warrants and are insufficient to allow ICE access to nonpublic areas of school buildings
- Require staff to notify parents of any warrant or subpoena unless they’re explicitly prohibited from doing so
- Encrypt sensitive student data to limit accidental or inappropriate disclosures
- Ensure all staff are trained on the protocols, including agency staff, contractors and bus drivers
- Require schools provide Know Your Rights workshops for students, families, and community members
To view the letter and read more, click here.
###