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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency continues to ramp up their activities, conducting arrests of
dubious legality across the country. Unfortunately, this also includes arrests - or attempted arrests - on school ground, or other school property such as school buses. Sad to say, but your student safety measures must now also include protecting them from overzealous law enforcement overstepping their authority.
ICE Raids On School Property: What Should You Know?
First, we must stress that this is a complicated, quickly-evolving situation that cannot be fully covered in a short article. We strongly recommend schools reach out to legal experts, such as their state chapter of the ACLU, for more specific guidance on state/local law.
That said:
1 - ALL your students have a right to education
The 1982 Supreme Court ruling Plyler v Doe decided, in no uncertain terms, that all students within a school district have a right to public education, regardless of their immigration status. Schools cannot deny services, and law enforcement should not be interfering in their education.
2 - You only have to abide by a Judicial Warrant
ICE often uses "administrative warrants" as justification for raids or arrests - however, these warrants do not truly have force of law behind them, as they are self-issued. A school is not legally required to allow ICE access to a student unless they have a Judicial Warrant, issued and signed by an actual judge.
However, if they do present an official Judicial Warrant, you must abide by it.
3 - Develop a preparedness plan
Any and every employee in your district could potentially be confronted by ICE or similar law enforcement groups. It's vital that everyone know their rights and their student's rights. Educate your people as best as possible, while also ensuring that your school's security systems are up-to-date. In particular, be certain that all audio/visual security recording systems are functioning, so you'll have hard evidence of any encounter.
4 - Seek help if a student is detained
Remember: your school might be one of the few outside allies a detained student has. We recommend visiting the Immigrant Legal Resource Center's Find Help page for an extensive list of local experts and resources, should one of your students end up in custody.
Student safety shouldn't have to require protecting them from law enforcement, but that's where we are right now. BusBoss will continue watching the situation and offering more advice as we can.
BusBoss will continue to watch this situation closely, and comment as new developments arise.
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PRESIDENT
Sonia has been involved with BusBoss since the late 1990’s, and has personally overseen many projects for various customers ranging from large urban and suburban districts to smaller rural school districts from all over the country.
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