District says Pinellas schools won't enforce immigration law despite chief's ICE application

• Critics argue the threat of ICE visiting campuses discourages undocumented parents from sending their children to school.

Catch up quick: ICE said Wednesday that the school district's police department had applied for a program that would permit its officers to enforce federal immigration law.

• Florida Phoenix first reported the news, and the article drew swift blowback from the school board, the teachers association and residents.
• All 67 Florida sheriff's offices have signed such deals.

Driving the news: District officials said chief Luke Williams lacked authorization to submit that application, according to the Times.

• District spokesperson Isabel Mascareñas also told the Times that participation in ICE training is not required and no one is obligated to perform such functions.
• Williams signed the agreement after a meeting with Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, school board member Lisa Cane told the Times.

Context: Schools were once considered protected areas where immigration enforcement couldn't occur, but President Trump scrapped that guidance earlier this year.

• Pinellas County Schools then issued a statement that said it would cooperate with ICE as the law requires but wouldn't take an active role in enforcement, per the Times.

The big picture: The state Department of Education has said Florida schools will cooperate with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, though it remains unclear what that will look like in practical terms.