In a recent letter, the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) is urging the federal government to reestablish a prohibition on certain immigration enforcement actions at schools.
Under previous policy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) barred immigration officers from carrying out certain immigration actions at schools and other areas classified as sensitive locations. The prohibited immigration enforcement actions included arrests, interviews, searches, and immigration-related surveillance. Last year, the Trump administration repealed this policy, allowing for these immigration enforcement activities to resume at schools. Now, AASA is calling on Congress to reimplement the policy as part of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding negotiations.
According to AASA’s letter, there have been at least nine ICE encounters on school grounds since the repeal of the federal government’s sensitive locations policy. The letter notes that while the number of incidents is relatively few, the negative impact on student wellbeing is significant. To demonstrate this impact on students, the letter cites to evidence that the impact of threatened immigration enforcement at schools has led to reduced student attendance, academic achievement, and graduation rates.
Congress continues to negotiate a funding bill for DHS, and it remains to be seen whether a reinstatement of the sensitive locations policy will be included in the final piece of legislation. To read the full AASA letter, please click here.
AASA is deeply concerned by the disruptive and traumatic effects of immigration enforcement activities on and around school campuses. Such actions undermine student safety, interfere with the student learning and can negatively impact school attendance and funding.
