Arizona’s largest high school district has made clear that it will not voluntarily assist with President Donald Trump’s immigration plans by declaring itself a “safe zone” for all students “regardless of citizenship status.”
Newsweek reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the White House and the Phoenix Union High School District governing board via email for comment on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Trump made immigration a central theme of his successful presidential campaign and Americans largely support his mass deportation plans.
A New York Times/Ipsos poll, carried out from January 2 to 10, found 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans. Eighty-eight percent supported “Deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records.” Large majorities of Democrats and Republicans agreed that the immigration system is broken.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced it would end a longstanding policy that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would not make arrests in or near “sensitive” areas, such as churches, hospitals or schools.
According to the American Immigration Council, roughly 13.1 percent of Arizona’s residents are immigrants, and about 8.6 percent of the border states U.S.-born residents live with at least one immigrant parent.
What To Know
The Phoenix Union High School District’s governing board adopted a resolution on Friday that makes clear that the district will continue “not to allow any individual or organization to enter a school site if the educational setting would be disrupted by that visit.”
The resolution says that any request from ICE or other agencies to visit a school site needs to be reviewed by Superintendent Thea Andrade or her designee “as to whether access to the site is permitted by law, a judicial warrant is required, or any other legal considerations apply.”
The resolution also stated that the school district does not collect information on the immigration status of its students. If federal immigration officials request information on students in the district, Andrade will make sure the requests comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Additionally, the district’s family engagement teams, which consist of social workers, assistant principals and others, would help students if ICE detains their guardian, according to the resolution.
What People Are Saying
Ceyshe Napa, Phoenix Union High School District governing board president, said during Friday’s meeting when the resolution was passed, “We have a huge responsibility to over 20,000 students, many of whom are of color, migrant and refugee families. Our students need to be on our campuses free of fear, regardless of the political climate that we find ourselves in.”
Richard Franco, a Phoenix Union High School District spokesperson, said in a statement, “The support these teams will provide for our undocumented families is well within the scope of their work.”
Phoenix Union Superintendent Thea Andrade, said in a letter sent to district families on Wednesday, that school sites were “safe zones” for all students “regardless of citizenship status,” adding, “We know there is fear and uncertainty in our community.”
Republican Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, said, according to the Arizona Republic, “Don’t hesitate to send your kids to school.”
He said he doesn’t believe federal immigration officials will “go into schools to bother kids,” adding that “it doesn’t make any sense” for agents to go into schools and arrest kids. Horne said he thinks the Trump administration policy change was so agents could enter a school “if someone they want to arrest is hiding there.”
What Happens Next
School districts across the nation, including in cities like Los Angeles and Chicago, have chosen not to voluntarily help with federal immigration officials’ efforts. While this public display of support for all students regardless of citizenship status adds to the political dialogue about immigration, it’s unclear how much of an impact it will have on actual immigration enforcement efforts.
Meanwhile, Andrade said in Wednesday’s letter to families that the district would host “Know Your Rights” workshops for the community. These workshops teach immigrants about their legal rights.
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