Some families are afraid to send their children to school because of the possibility that immigration agents will enter schools to detain people who are in the country illegally under the Trump administration, even though they are unaware of how this change is being developed in Houston.
The National Security Department changed the guidelines last week to allow immigration and aduana agents to hold people in safe places including schools, hospitals, and churches. These areas were off-limits to immigration agents starting in 2011.
As of right now, there are no indications that immigration agents are conducting detentions at Houston schools. However, this could change if President Donald Trump’s plans to deport large numbers of illegal immigrants living in the country intensify.
This is what we know about the political change and what it might mean for Houston’s schools:
Podr an los agentes de ICE arrestar a personas en las escuelas de Houston ahora que Trump elimin una directriz que proteg a los espacios sensibles?
S.
According to the Centro Nacional de Leyes de Inmigración, if agents have a probable cause or an arrest order v lida, they are permitted by law to make an illegal arrest of anyone they believe is in the country. If immigrants disclose their immigration status to order enforcement or present documents proving they are not in the country legally, they may give the agents a probable cause.
Although the law does not restrict who can be arrested in reasonable places, Trump administration officials have suggested restricting arrests in schools to the most serious offenders.
Prior to the change in policy last week, ICE agents were not authorized to conduct arrests, interviews, registrations, or surveillance in certain locations. If the agents intended to comply with immigration law in a reasonable manner, they would need the agency’s approval beforehand, and an arrest must be connected to the detention of terrorists, a threat to national security, or impending violence.
Los agentes de ICE arrestar n regularmente a personas en las escuelas de Houston?
It’s too soon to say that with certainty.
During the first week of the Trump administration, there have been no confirmed reports by news outlets or school districts that immigration agents have conducted detentions in Houston area schools or in schools around the nation. (The administrators of the Chicago Public Schools reported on the fourth that ICE agents visited a primary school, but they later clarified that they were dealing with employees of the US Secret Service on matters unrelated to immigration).
However, it may succeed in the future.
In an interview with ABC News that aired on Sunday, Tom Homan, the leader of the Trump campaign, stated that it is necessary to let the agents determine whether there is a threat to national or public safety before deciding whether to detain someone in a school. For instance, Homan stated that several members of the band MS-13 have between 14 and 17 years old.
No other agency, no other public order agency, has such requirements that they must meet in order to enter a school, contact a mental health professional, or visit a mental health campus, stated Homan. All other agencies are subject to these restrictions. It involves well-behaved agents with a lot of variation, and wherever a reasonable location is involved, there is always supervisory revision.
Los agentes de polic a del distrito escolar arrestar n a personas por cargos relacionados con la inmigraci n en los campus?
No.
Every major Houston neighborhood has its own police department, with officers tasked with keeping students safe and making criminal arrests. They are not responsible for adhering to immigration laws.
Cambia la nueva gu a la forma en que las escuelas trabajan con los estudiantes que viven en el pa s ilegalmente?
No.
The new law regarding the application of immigration law in schools does not alter the law stating that public schools must admit students regardless of their immigration status. Tampoco requires school employees to inquire about a student’s migration status, which they currently do not.
C mo afectar la nueva directriz a las escuelas del rea de Houston?
Following the director’s termination, Houston Landing contacted the ten largest school districts in the Houston metropolitan area, including the Independent School Districts (ISD) of Alief and Spring, to inquire about the recent change and whether ICE had gotten in touch with them.
The independent school districts (ISD) of Cy-Fair, Fort Bend, Aldine, Klein, Humble, Pasadena, and Spring, as well as the ISD of Lamar, did not reply to the requests for comments by electronic mail. Katy’s school district is not allowed to comment.
Houston ISD: Superintendent Mike Miles confirms in a letter to community members that the district’s policies regarding the operations of the orderly forces on campus have not changed.
The Houston school district’s department of legal services only provides information about students to the order’s enforcement agencies if it has confirmed all required steps and does not violate federal privacy protections. Additionally, all administrators and staff members are trained to communicate with the order’s forces.
Alief ISD: In a letter to the community’s members, Alief’s superintendent, Anthony Mays, explained that the district has been in communication with its legal advisor. The district asked parents and representatives to update their students’ information, including a phone number and an electronic emergency contact form, and to notify the authorized individuals who might pick up or drop off their students at school.
In an email sent on the fourth, Alief’s head of public relations and communications, Kristyn Cathey, stated that neither the DHS nor ICE had gotten in touch with the district regarding the change in immigration policy.
Conroe ISD: According to Sarah Blakelock, director of communications, the department of police’s role in the Conroe Independent School District is to maintain campus security and comply with local and state laws.
Although enforcing immigration laws is not the primary function of the Department of Police in the District of Independent Schools of Conroe, we have always cooperated and will continue to cooperate with our federal, state, and local authorities tasked with doing so whenever we are asked to do so in connection with official investigations and in the pursuit of criminal justice, Blakelock stated.
Teresa E. Frontado is the translator.
The Landing’s reporter is Angelica Perez. You may find her on Twitter and Instagram, or you can reach her directly at [email protected].
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