DHS says ICE does not target schools
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An ICE officer's badge and weapon are seen as ICE conducts a vehicle checkpoint on Aug. 30 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The Department of Homeland Security stressed in a Tuesday memo that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not target or raid schools.
The big picture: But DHS guidance on sensitive spaces updated in January to greenlight arrests in schools and churches has contributed to a culture of concern in America's classrooms and school communities.
Driving the news: The DHS chided news stories about children and families being fearful about returning to school under President Trump's immigration crackdown, saying, "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does NOT raid or target schools."
- Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release ICE would not go into schools to arrest children and that officers would require secondary supervisor approval before taking action in a school, a scenario the memo said would likely be "extremely rare."
- She said "criminals" will "no longer be able to hide in America's schools to avoid arrest.
- "The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense."
Flashback: In an interview with ABC's Martha Raddatz shortly after DHS removed prior guidance to avoid so-called sensitive areas, border czar Tom Homan was asked what criminals would be hiding in schools. He replied, "How many MS-13 members are the age 14 to 17? Many of them."
- He continued, "If it's a national security threat, public safety threat and ... what you need to understand is that it's case by case, name another agency, another law enforcement agency, that has those type of requirements, that they can't walk into a school or doctor's office or a medical campus."
- The White House told NBC News in January that the policy change was not a directive to go into schools.
State of play: But many school districts, boards and administrators, faced with an information bedlam, rushed earlier this year to spell out their policies on interacting with immigration enforcement.
- Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, schools can't share information about students without parent permission, Axios' Jessica Boehm reports. The law applies to law enforcement unless an officer has secured a judge's order granting them access to the information.
The bottom line: Even if ICE activity on campus is rare, families and school-aged children have been affected by the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
- According to the American Immigration Council, more than 5 million U.S. citizen children have at least one undocumented family member.
- And research suggests immigration sweeps can contribute to student absenteeism and disrupt classroom life, even when there are no boots on school grounds.
Go deeper: Exclusive: Slim majority of voters support keeping ICE off school grounds
