Texas Education Agency says schools 'must not impede' immigration enforcement on campuses
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said on Thursday that school districts "must not impede federal officials" when they are conducting immigration enforcement stings on campuses.
The informal guidance came in a brief, three-paragraph letter to the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, a coalition of Democratic state lawmakers in the Texas House who requested guidance from Texas Education Agency last month after President Donald Trump took office and directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ramp up deportations.
That operation has impacted Austin, where many undocumented immigrants have been lying low since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.
In the absence of guidance from TEA, Central Texas districts in recent weeks have issued their own rules for how staff should interact with federal officers.
The rules vary but are far more detailed than the guidance Morath offered in his letter, which a TEA spokesperson said would only be shared with school districts upon request.
In the letter, Morath — an appointee of Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who has made border security a major focus — told members of the caucus that school districts must follow state and federal law. He noted that existing statutes allow schools to verify the identities of campus visitors "including municipal, state, and federal law enforcement officials," and said that visitors shouldn't be allowed on a campus without a legitimate reason to be there.
But one of the letter's biggest takeaway came in this sentence: 'As with any visit by a state law enforcement officer carrying out official duties, campus personnel must not impede federal officials."
If school district staff have any questions about how to handle those interactions, Morath said they should ask their administrators or in-house legal counsel.
Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., chair of the Mexican American caucus, told the American-Statesman that the letter didn't go far enough, failing to clarify which laws districts are expected to follow.
The Fort Worth Democrat also noted that some school districts may not have their own lawyers to turn to.
'A rural district may have less robust legal counsel, or no counsel at all,' Romero said. 'In such situations, how are district administrators who are already balancing endless obligations to ensure full compliance with necessary laws?'
Romero said TEA should be clearer because school district administrators lack of certainty about potential ICE enforcement at schools, a threat that he said has led to low attendance by children of fearful parents and disruptions to learning.
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8 minutes ago
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Lake Placid Dem announces candidacy for 115th district assembly seat
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13 minutes ago
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Fox News
34 minutes ago
- Fox News
Meet Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell's legal ace pulling out all the stops to get her out of prison
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CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "He's extremely brilliant, dedicated, passionate, zealous, experienced, and extremely humble. He seems to understand what many high-profile lawyers don't, and that is his ego is not his amigo," Eiglarsh said. "He does not shy away from a challenge. And boy, does he have a challenge here. Getting the Supreme Court to take this case at all is going to be extremely challenging. But then to zealously argue and effectively get them to embrace this case and his point of view, he's probably one of the only of few attorneys who could ever pull that off." Fox News' Digital's Michael Ruiz and Ashley Oliver contributed to this report. Print Close URL
