Trump's migrant policy ensnares schools and Democrats

Politico

27-01-2025

Presented by
With help from Rebecca Carballo
IMMIGRATION SHOWDOWN — Some of the largest Democratic enclaves face a political challenge as they confront President Donald Trump's toughened immigration actions.
— Even as school administrators and Democratic leaders repeat their promise to shield students and teachers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, they appear unsure exactly how far to go to prevent federal agents from making arrests on campus.
— That tension reached a fever pitch in Chicago on Friday, when officials admitted a 'misunderstanding' caused local parents to fear their children's school was being targeted by immigration agents — in fact, the U.S. Secret Service was investigating a threat. When Vice President JD Vance was asked Sunday if he supported federal raids at schools and churches, he pivoted to condemn the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' opposition to Trump's immigration policy.
— Such uncertainty is even reverberating in red states like Florida and Texas. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is broadcasting his support for Trump's deportation demands, but teachers who might otherwise support the president's immigration policy are concerned about the anticipated impact on schools.
— Watch how local officials respond to two developments: first, a Department of Homeland Security directive that now labels schools and churches as fair ground for immigration arrests. In a Jan. 20 memo to federal immigration and border officials, acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman said law enforcement officers should use 'discretion along with a healthy dose of common sense' when working 'in a sensitive location.'
— The Department of Justice also promises to investigate and prosecute any state or local entity that refuses to cooperate with ramped-up federal immigration enforcement efforts and take legal action to challenge contravening local laws — warnings that will undoubtedly pit local Democratic officials against the federal government in states like California.
IT'S MONDAY, JAN. 27. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. Just a few days into Trump's second term, some federal workers are contemplating quitting. Others are preparing to file grievances with their unions or moving communications with each other to secure platforms like Signal. Some, fearing they'll be caught up in the White House's purge of diversity programs, are leaving their names off of worrisome memos and documents.
Reach out with tips to today's host at [e-mail] and also my colleagues Becca Carballo ([e-mail]), Bianca Quilantan ([e-mail]) and Mackenzie Wilkes ([e-mail]).
Civil Rights
A NEW TAKE ON BOOKS — The Education Department dismissed a 'book ban coordinator' named by former President Joe Biden's administration and scrapped nearly a dozen complaints filed with its civil rights office that sought to overturn school district decisions to remove books from libraries and classrooms.
— In dismissing the complaints Friday, Bianca reports the Education Department said it was rejecting the argument that removing books with 'age-inappropriate, sexually explicit, or obscene materials' amounted to creating a hostile environment for students.
— Free speech advocates slammed both the dismissals and the department's description of book bans as a 'hoax.' Kasey Meehan, PEN America's director of Freedom to Read, called the language 'alarming and dismissive' of censorship concerns. Civil rights advocates also expressed concern about how this could make it harder for underrepresented students to see themselves in their school's curriculum.
— 'The dismissal of the book ban complaints is the latest damaging and harmful action we've seen this week from the Trump administration's extremist agenda,' said Shiwali Patel, senior director of safe and inclusive schools at the National Women's Law Center.
— But for Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who spent years building a political brand on book restrictions, Friday's decision was a moment of vindication.
— 'R.I.P. to the Book Ban Hoax,' DeSantis wrote on X.
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Supreme Court
LANDMARK MOMENT — The Supreme Court will weigh the fate of an Oklahoma religious charter school that has blurred the lines between church and state, justices announced Friday in an unsigned order distributed days after President Donald Trump was sworn into office.
— 'This stands to be one of the most significant religious and education freedom decisions in our lifetime,' Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said of the high court's decision to consider last year's Oklahoma court ruling that rejected plans to open the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.
— The timing of the high court's decision was unusual, and suggests justices seek to hear the case this spring, in their final days of argument for the term. Only eight justices will weigh in, as Justice Amy Coney Barrett plans to recuse herself. No reason was given for her decision.
— Friday's announcement previews what is sure to be a tense courtroom debate between Oklahoma Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond and a battery of conservative organizations and interests who have supported St. Isidore's march to the high court.
— Drummond put himself at odds with Stitt's administration and state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters shortly after his 2023 election when the attorney general scrapped a legal opinion that opened the door to publicly funded religious charter schools in Oklahoma. Drummond then repeatedly stated his office's opposition to St. Isidore when it was first greenlit by a statewide board.
— Conservative legal organizations and authorities in eight Republican-led states have urged the high court to overturn last year's Oklahoma court ruling.
PRESSING PAUSE — The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to hold off its review of a lower court decision that blocked a student debt forgiveness rule that made it easier for borrowers to have their loans forgiven if they'd been defrauded by their colleges.
— The Justice Department says the Education Department's new leaders should assess former President Joe Biden's updates to the 'borrower defense' rule before proceeding with any briefings, Rebecca reports.
— Career Colleges and Schools of Texas, a regulator, sued the Biden administration over the borrower defense rule in 2023, arguing that it was too easy for students to engage in the borrower defense process. That same year the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with CCST, blocking the rule from taking effect nationwide.
— The Fifth Circuit said the department can't grant the relief unless a borrower has defaulted and the government has sued them to collect on the loan.
— 'After the change in Administration, the Acting Secretary of Education has determined that the Department should reassess the basis for and soundness of the Department's borrower-defense regulations,' acting solicitor general Sarah Harris wrote in a court filing.
— It's unclear what the next administration will do with rule, but Trump transition advisers had been reportedly discussing ways to unwind the various Biden-era student loan initiatives.
IN THE STATES
FOR YOUR RADAR – Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee is kicking off National School Choice Week with a special legislative session to address hurricane disaster relief, immigration and a major private school tuition program that is winning support from many — but not all — conservatives.
— Tennessee's bicameral bills to authorize up to 20,000 public-funded private school tuition scholarships include potential sweeteners to coax possible holdouts, such as $2,000 public school teacher bonuses and tax tweaks to support public school construction projects.
— State House Speaker Cameron Sexton took to social media on Friday to thank the Trump administration and the America First Policy Institute for a supportive letter that praised the legislation. David McIntosh, head of the conservative Club For Growth, used a Sunday editorial in The Tennessean to promise any Republican lawmaker who opposes the measure 'should expect to lose an expensive primary' fueled by his organization's resources.
— The idea still faces opposition, including some from local Moms for Liberty chapters. The organization's Williamson County branch in Nashville's exurbs pushed its members to call lawmakers and demand 'no' votes because of the bill's anticipated price tag, the lack of private schools in rural communities, and 'government interference in private schools.'
— Tennessee Stands, a conservative organization founded by local political operative and former state Senate candidate Gary Humble, further expressed 'grave concern' with the use of a special session to address the school choice debate in a letter to lawmakers that said voters want to 'preserve our educational system.'
— 'Your primary duty lies not with the Governor's office, not with special interest groups, and not with party leadership – but with the citizens of your districts who entrusted you with their voice in our government,' Humble told lawmakers this month. 'The pressures you face – whether through committee assignments, leadership positions, or political threats – pale in comparison to your constitutional obligations.'
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice is joining the conservative Heritage Foundation as a visiting fellow in parental rights. Justice will spearhead a new 'Parental Rights Initiative' at Heritage, which the organization says Justice will use to take Moms for Liberty's state-focused strategy onto a national scale.
Syllabus
— Education Department watchdog among inspectors general fired in Friday night purge: POLITICO Pro
— Military academies should not use race in admissions, a newly-confirmed Hegseth says: Reuters
— Amid immigration fears, Chicago school staff mistook Secret Service agents for ICE, district says: Chalkbeat
— A 'pay penalty' is keeping men out of classrooms: The Wall Street Journal
— Opinion: Trump's plan to crush the academic left: The New York Times