Teachers describe immigration enforcement's impact on classrooms in challenge of Trump policy

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In one testimonial after another, teachers detailed all the ways President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has shaped their work and the lives of their students.

In a court filing Thursday, educators around the country described rumors of immigration raids that scared away students, immigrant parents who stopped sending their children to school altogether, and stories of parents and students — including one middle schooler — being picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at school bus stops.

The stories were shared as part of a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration policy that opened up schools, houses of worship and medical facilities to immigration enforcement. The lawsuit was filed last year by an Oregon farmworkers union and a group of churches that argued the policy change was “arbitrary and capricious.” The American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and three preschool employees joined the suit in September.

As the impacts of immigration enforcement on schools and healthcare facilities grew, the plaintiffs filed a petition asking a judge to halt the Trump administration policy as the lawsuit proceeds.

“In recent months — and escalating in the past several weeks — immigration enforcement agents have made startling incursions into cities and towns around the country, including unprecedented and unrestrained surges in and around vital community institutions such as schools and healthcare facilities,” attorneys wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Administration officials have defended the policy in the past, saying that making schools, churches and other spaces off-limits to immigration enforcement could make them refuges for criminals.

Officials have said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement does not target schools for enforcement operations, but there have been several instances in recent months where immigration authorities have pursued or detained people on or near school property.

The government for more than three decades had barred immigration authorities from making arrests in schools and houses of worship. That policy was updated over the years to include other “protected areas,” such as hospitals and homeless shelters, to prevent enforcement actions that would restrict access to essential services and activities.

Shortly after Trump took office, his administration rescinded that policy, instead issuing a four-paragraph memo that advised officers to use “a healthy dose of common sense” when deciding whether to make arrests near “protected areas.”

As Trump has ramped up his efforts to deport millions of people, some of the arrests have been made near schools during pick-up and drop-off hours. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include a trio of educators from an Oregon preschool, where ICE agents attempted to arrest a man in the parking lot after he dropped off his infant son.

In Chelsea, Massachusetts, teachers union president Kathryn Anderson said immigration enforcement has been more disruptive to learning than the COVID pandemic, which moved school online for months. The school system lost a significant number of students this year and absenteeism is higher than usual.

“Right now, kids of all backgrounds are being prevented from going to school because of the extremely real fear that either they or their family members will be separated,” said Anderson, who is not part of the lawsuit. “As an educator ... having to help kids move through and exist in that fear (has) been a near impossible task.”

During a Chicago operation in October, agents released tear gas that engulfed a school playground. They later arrested a teacher inside of her preschool during morning drop-off. DHS said agents had attempted to pull over the car she was riding in before she got to school and said she barricaded herself inside, forcing agents to enter. The woman, who has work authorization, was eventually released.

In Minneapolis, agents scuffled with bystanders after pursuing a man onto a high school campus as school was ending for the day.

The court filing included testimony from 60 teachers and health care workers from 18 states who described how immigration enforcement near their schools and medical facilities has challenged their work. All submitted their testimony anonymously.

One middle school teacher said half of students stayed home amidst a rumor about immigration enforcement nearby. The following month, a student at the school was detained while at a bus stop.

Elsewhere, a speech pathologist described tearful meetings with immigrant parents fearful that signing documents to get their child special education services would draw the attention of immigration enforcement.

A high school teacher said many students, including immigrants still learning English, switched to virtual learning after a parent was arrested by ICE at a school bus stop. But the virtual option is only offered in English, and the teacher said they feared the students are falling behind.

A teacher at a another school said a student was detained by ICE at a school bus stop and never returned to class after being released. Now, when students ask whether they can be arrested at school, "I can no longer reassure them that campus is safe from ICE.”

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