Denver Public Schools says other districts may join immigration suit
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Denver Public Schools is leading the charge to shield students from immigration raids. Photo: Katie Wood/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Denver Public Schools this week is believed to be the first district in the nation to sue the Trump administration over immigration enforcement in schools — but it's likely not the last.
The latest: DPS officials have heard from "several" school districts that are interested in joining its lawsuit or pursuing similar action, spokesperson Scott Pribble told Axios Denver.
- Pribble declined to name them but confirmed they are large, urban school districts like DPS.
State of play: The move comes after the Trump administration rolled back long-standing federal policies that restricted immigration enforcement in sensitive locations, such as schools.
- The lawsuit also follows a wave of immigration raids in the metro area last week that led to the brief detainment of four students from Place Bridge Academy in the Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood, Pribble said, and prevented school buses from picking up children.
Zoom in: DPS' lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Denver against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, argues the immigration crackdown has significantly lowered school attendance and is jeopardizing state funding, which is tied to enrollment.
- The district says it has been forced to divert resources from education to prepare for potential immigration arrests on school grounds.
- DPS also filed for a temporary restraining order that would reinstate the sensitive-locations policy and prevent schools from becoming "hunting grounds for suspected undocumented immigrants."
What they're saying: "In many classrooms, students have become fearful if someone they don't know enters the classroom," Pribble told Axios Denver.
- "No child should have to weigh the risk of enforcement over the right to an education," DPS superintendent Alex Marrero wrote Thursday in an op-ed for the Denver Post. "No family should have to question whether school remains a place of refuge."
The other side: In a statement, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Axios Denver the agency is "preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting these locations and taking safe haven there because these criminals knew law enforcement couldn't go inside under the previous administration."
- She added that DHS officers "use discretion," would "need secondary supervisor approval" before enforcement in locations such as schools, and expect these instances to be "extremely rare."
Reality check: Federal numbers in recent years have shown that less than 1% of people with deportation orders have been convicted of dangerous crimes, Axios' Russell Contreras writes.
The big picture: Colorado's largest school district is joining a growing legal pushback in the state and nationwide against Trump-era executive actions.
- If successful, DPS' lawsuit could set a precedent for other districts looking to shield students from immigration raids.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.