Teachers, administrators caught in crosshairs of immigration crackdown

• But misinformation has stirred panic among already stressed populations as false rumors spread of ICE raids in schools and hospitals.
• Details from the Trump administration about who Homeland Security intends to target in raids have been contradictory.
• Officials once said the "worst of the worst" would be the first to go. But the White House recently confirmed it saw all immigrants arrested for suspicion of being in the country illegally as "criminals."

Case in point: "Public schools are designed to serve all kids — full stop," said Rich Harrison, the CEO of Lighthouse Community Public Schools, which serves around 1,600 students in East Oakland, California.

• A 2015 study estimated that undocumented immigrants made up 17% of East Oakland residents, and an estimated 35% of children in the area have "at least one unauthorized parent."

Lighthouse provided its families with toolkits in English and Spanish that advise on family preparedness plans, highlight legal resources and outline relevant legislation, and the schools have assured parents of its policies that affirm the right to education for all.

• "We're in a day and age where misinformation travels just as fast as the correct information, which really makes for supporting young people and their families incredibly challenging," Harrison said.

State of play: Immigration officials have not provided clear details on what may prompt them to arrest someone at a school, but a White House spokesperson told NBC News that enforcement on school or church grounds will be "extremely rare" and the revised policy isn't a directive for ICE to target such locations.

Threat level: But heightened anxiety amid the administration's immigration crackdown has triggered dips in school attendance nationwide, said Alejandra Vázquez Baur, the co-founder and director of the National Newcomer Network, on a press call.

School districts have varied in their responses to the directives.

• Recently circulating New York guidance directs officials not to let law enforcement into schools "except to address an imminent safety situation or where required by law due to a judicial warrant or order."
• The Florida Department of Education told Axios' Yacob Reyes it would cooperate with "all law enforcement working to enforce the nation's laws on illegal immigration."
• But within the Sunshine State, some districts' and unions' messaging has differed. In Miami-Dade County, the teachers union instructed faculty to keep doors locked and provided teachers with "Know Your Rights" information, Axios' Sommer Brugal reports.

Zoom in: Bee Benton, an Alabama middle school teacher, said amid the uncertainty and anxiety, she's focused on responding to her students' feelings while holding administrators and district officials accountable.

• "You [teachers] handle what's in your four walls and make sure that your kids are OK," she said.
• Last month, she received several questions from her students about what was happening. But she said top-down communication from her state has done little to answer those questions.
• Despite that, she said she "100%" knows of children still in the school system who could be impacted by Trump's deportation campaign.

Harrison says it's Lighthouse's policy not to allow any person or organization in that would trigger a "disruption of our educational setting." That means any request by ICE to visit the school's sites must be forwarded to school principals and himself.

• School policy states that staff will not require students or families to supply documentation of their status at any time.

The bottom line: Even if ICE on school grounds is not a likely reality, families and young children have been affected by the recent crackdown.

• Of the more than 200 people on deportation flights that landed in Colombia on Jan. 28, there were more than 20 children and two pregnant women.

Go deeper: "The scare is on": Immigrants are avoiding food aid amid deportation threats