Schools try to reassure students, parents amid stepped up federal immigration enforcement

Yahoo

09-02-2025

Against a backdrop of stepped up federal enforcement, staff, principals and security personnel from St. Paul Public Schools attended training in late January on how to respond if immigration officials appear on school property.
Interim Superintendent John Thein issued an open letter last month — titled 'You Belong Here' — seeking to reassure parents that under current federal law, the district cannot ask families about their immigration status or deny them access to education based on their status.
At the same time, district officials explained, in writing, how parents can designate someone to take care of their children if they're separated from them — a process that requires a notarized document known as a Delegation of Parental Authority, or a DOPA.
The school district also has urged families to update their emergency contact information and their family plan and consider seeking assistance, if needed, from legal resources such as Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. A Spanish-language meeting for parents has been scheduled toward the end of February.
'I want to assure you that SPPS respects, affirms and welcomes ALL students, staff and family members,' wrote Thein on Jan. 31. 'ALL students deserve to learn in respectful and inclusive environments where their identities are valued and contribute to their success in school and in life.'
St. Paul Public Schools isn't the only school district looking to reassure families and staff that they remain welcome at a tense time for many immigrants and the family members who rely on them. At the same time, some schools, colleges and municipalities with large immigrant populations have found themselves in the sensitive position of explaining when and to what degree they're required to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, such as if ICE presents a judicial order or criminal arrest warrant.
According to Wilder Research and Minnesota Compass, about one in five children in Minnesota is the child of an immigrant.
'This is a new territory for a lot of our school districts,' said Kirk Schneidawind, executive director of the Minnesota School Boards Association. 'They're primarily in the territory of educating kids, and all of a sudden, we're in a new phase or new era. A lot of them are anticipating what may be coming, and our administrators and teachers are trying to be prepared and be informed.'
In addition to seeking a better understanding of the law and how it intersects with internal school policies, 'I think we've seen a lot of our school districts reach out to community agencies to provide some support to families,' Schneidawind said.
Within days of taking office, President Donald Trump's administration has given ICE field offices heftier new detention quotas, and issued executive orders lifting restraints that kept ICE from making arrests at churches, schools, hospitals and other sensitive locations that were formerly off-limits.
'The stress and the heaviness is absolutely in the air,' said Katie Birch, a social studies and site-based substitute teacher in the St. Paul elementary schools. 'Definitely fourth- and fifth-grade students are having much more dynamic conversations than I think most people realize kids are capable of having, and they're susceptible to the stress and anxieties that their parents feel. They're very perceptive. They don't miss a thing. If the adults are feeling it, they're very aware of it.'
It's unclear, exactly, what the new directives mean for schools. On X, the social media site, ICE has begun posting pictures of recent arrests, including several in or around St. Paul, with the label 'The Worst First,' a reference to ICE's focus on priority suspects accused of violence or high-profile crimes.
At the same time, the White House has also allowed ICE to perform 'collateral' arrests of unintended targets, such as individuals living with a suspected violent offender. Quoting senior Trump administration officials, NBC News reported that of the 1,179 people arrested by ICE nationally on Jan. 26, just 613 — or little more than half — were considered 'criminal arrests.' The rest appeared to be nonviolent offenders or people who were not suspected of a criminal offense at all.
While entering the U.S. through illegal means is considered a crime, legal experts say the simple act of living in the U.S. without proper documentation is classified as a civil infraction akin to a contract violation and, standing alone, does not constitute a criminal act under the law.
Overstaying a worker or student visa tends to fall in a grayer area under the law, and might result in a ban from returning to the U.S. for three to 10 years, but an overstay would not typically trigger criminal penalties unless other criminal violations are involved.
The legal complexities of the issue have now landed at the doorstep of elementary schools, middle school classrooms, high schools and halls of higher learning. There's a difference, for instance, between an administrative warrant, which does not legally authorize officers to search school grounds, and a criminal warrant or judicial order, which may serve exactly that purpose.
'Campus departments of public safety do not enforce federal immigration laws and our officers do not inquire about an individual's immigration status,' wrote University of Minnesota officials, in an explanatory open letter to students, faculty and staff on Jan. 31. 'In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the University does not provide private student information, unless required by subpoena or court order.'
Throughout the country, the possibility of political retribution for not cooperating with federal authorities on immigration enforcement also has heightened tensions. The Trump administration, through a memo circulated last month by the U.S. Department of Justice, has threatened to investigate any state or city officials suspected of blocking federal efforts to remove undocumented immigrants.
On Jan. 23, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined top prosecutors from a dozen states in issuing a public response noting that under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — which limits federal authority over individual states — the federal government cannot force local police departments to carry out its law enforcement duties, including federal immigration enforcement.
On Thursday, Ellison's office followed that with a formal legal opinion that Minnesota law prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from holding someone based on a civil immigration detainer if the person would otherwise be released from custody. 'Federal regulations themselves specify that detainers issued by ICE are requests, not commands,' reads a statement from the Minnesota Attorney General's Office.
School district officials are doing their best to interpret their rights and responsibilities, Schneidawind said.
The Minnesota Reformer reported last month that Minneapolis Public Schools has been conducting staff trainings since December on how to respond if immigration officials demand access to a student. The training documents indicate that school staff are not required to assist in direct enforcement of an administrative warrant, and they should ask officers to wait outside the secured area of the school until the district's general counsel has been notified.
They're then to wait to be advised on what to do next. Even in the case of a valid criminal warrant, according to the Reformer, the district has told employees they should escort the student to the principal's office, rather than allow ICE unfettered access to school grounds.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District — the state's largest — also has indicated that requests for access to students would be reviewed by the district's legal counsel, according to a district statement.
Among other resources, St. Paul Public Schools is distributing flyers informing families about a Spanish-language 'Know Your Rights' meeting to be hosted by Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services later this month.
'A school is a care-giving environment,' said Birch, the elementary school teacher. 'In all of this uncertainty and fear, what I love about educators, especially in our school, people are banding together. It feels like we're saying, 'We can do hard things, especially when we're together.' … It's like a safe space for students to nestle into.'
Following staff requests, the district has shared information with staff on how to talk to both elementary and secondary students about any anxiety related to recent events, support civil conversation, and direct students and families to extra support if needed.
'Although we cannot provide any absolute assurances, share the message that schools remain one of the safest places for young people to be during the day,' district officials wrote to staff. 'SPPS welcomes and values ALL students in our schools.'
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