Facing deportation fear in schools, hospitals and places of worship

President Trump’s push toward mass deportation is bad enough as policy—but for many in our community, it is more than just heated rhetoric and obscure rulemaking. It is terrifying.

Families are making emergency plans, asking relatives and friends to take care of their children should their parents be swept up in deportation and disappear from their homes. As if that’s not heartbreaking enough, some kids are afraid they’ll be caught up in a raid at school—a place that is supposed to be safe. Or they’re fearful their parents will be snatched up as they drop them off at school in the morning, taken away to a detention center. It has happened before.

“We’ve seen what this administration did during the first term,” said Gaby Pocheco, president and CEO of TheDream.US, during the AFT’s town hall Jan. 30. “We saw children being ripped from their parents’ arms, their cries echoing across this nation. And now they want us to forget that that pain existed. But we can’t forget. And we won’t forget.”

One of the biggest threats right now is a new Homeland Security mandate allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enter schools, places of worship and hospitals—once considered to be “sensitive locations” that were off-limits to immigration raids. Fear and lack of information is sowing chaos in schools and healthcare facilities. Healthcare providers say patients are skipping appointments, opting for telehealth only or forgoing important procedures in case ICE officers show up. Places of worship, which have been sanctuaries for years, are also on alert.  But there are important steps that formerly protected institutions can take to protect immigrant communities, as laid out in the AFT’s Know Your Rights for Immigrant Youth and Schools.

“These actions are traumatizing to all children, especially the young ones, and will leave them with fear and worry about whether they’re next to be taken away,” says AFT President Randi Weingarten. “They won’t want to go to school, and why would they when it doesn’t feel safe? This is cruelty. This is un-American.”

“The fear is real within our schools as our community members who are DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] recipients or living in mixed-status households face the threat of deportation,” says Tomas Lobato, a bilingual special education preschool teacher and a Chicago Teachers Union leader. “They should be able to learn without having to worry about whether their parents will be taken away. Educators also should be able to teach without worrying about whether their families will be torn apart."

Nelver Brooks, a high school English language learner teacher in Missouri and a member of AFT St. Louis, calls the new developments “devastating.” Problematic behaviors are increasing among students who are depressed and anxious. Some are withdrawing into themselves. Many are lethargic—not sleepy in the way she recognizes as the result of after-school jobs or late-night  studying, but woozy with trauma. “It weighs on them,” says Brooks, and it weighs on staff as well. “It’s just a mess.”

What we can do

Educators, healthcare providers and faith leaders are creating clear steps in case of raids, so staff members have the phone number to call if they are confronted with ICE officers; they know they do not have to let ICE agents in without a judicial warrant; and they know who in the building is designated to interact with federal officials. 

The AFT is helping with Know Your Rights fliers and pocket-sized cards that help individuals who are targeted remember what to say if they are confronted with law enforcement—or they can simply give officers the card outlining their rights: They do not have to answer any questions, they don’t have to sign any documents and do not have to let officers search their homes without a signed judicial warrant. There’s a huge misconception that just because someone is here without documentation, they don’t have rights. The U.S. Constitution guarantees everyone, documented or not, with inalienable rights. It’s our responsibility to inform immigrants of their Fifth Amendment right. There is also a guide to creating an emergency plan and a deportation defense toolkit.

Know Your Rights workshops give in-person guidance, and the AFT’s Jan. 31 virtual town hall provided information about the new immigration landscape and access to resources and crucial information that can keep communities safe. The event is still available for viewing here, and includes specific guidelines regarding when and whether ICE officials can enter schools and hospitals, whether staff must interact with them and who to designate for those interactions.

Meanwhile, AFT leaders are broadcasting their resistance. AFT President Randi Weingarten wrote a letter to President Trump to rescind the Homeland Security mandate allowing ICE officers in schools, hospitals and places of worship; and several affiliate leaders have issued statements and directed their unions to ensure families have the information they need. We also launched a petition, We Protect Our Children- All Our Children,  asking Congress to intervene and pass legislation redesignating schools, hospitals and places of worship as protected areas from immigration enforcement.

“Trump’s first day in office showed us that he is exactly who he told us he would be,” Jeff Freitas,  CFT president in California, told EdSource. “His first actions as president direct hate and aim to stoke fear in the hearts of immigrant families and our LGBTQIA+ community. … Educators and school staff stand ready to fight back against every single action that stands to harm our members, our students, and our communities.”

"It is a sad and shameful day when schools, meant to educate and support students, are turned into sites of fear and chaos,” says Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery.

"The IFT is committed to ensuring that schools remain safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces, and we will continue to fight against fear and division. We urge leaders and lawmakers to stand with us to denounce this cruel policy and protect the rights and dignity of our students, educators and communities."

Underscoring the legal right for undocumented students to go to school, AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang and Boston Teachers Union President Erik Berg issued a statement addressed in part to immigrant families: “We are working to make sure our schools will remain safe spaces to learn and to go in times of need,” they wrote. “We are here for you and we want you here.” The statement goes on to explain that the right to an education is protected by the Constitution. “Educators across the state and nation are ready to stand up and defend the rights and safety of their students,” they wrote.

On the ground

BTU has walked the talk. Its Unafraid Educators Committee has distributed $460,000 in scholarship money to 170 students who did not qualify for FAFSA  grants or in-state tuition, and launched an Everyone is Welcome Here campaign that includes resources, legal support through partners, and a sense of belonging. The Chicago Teachers Union launched a Sanctuary Series, has held Know Your Rights workshops, established protocols regarding ICE visits to schools and, importantly, bargained sanctuary measures into its contract.

United Educators of San Francisco works in coalition with immigrant advocates to defend and expand immigrant rights and its We Can’t Wait campaign explicitly names defense of immigrant families, raising the issue at the bargaining table. United Teachers Los Angeles has been holding Know Your Rights workshops, running legal clinics and partnering with community organizations to inform its community as widely as possible. It’s also written immigrant student support into its contract, with partnerships that provide legal and financial support and steps for expanding services. And in Texas, Education Austin and Texas AFT both have  worked with the Texas AFL-CIO on workshops, immigration aid and other support programs for years.

The AFT national office is involved in much of this work, partnering with affiliates to organize workshops as well as citizenship clinics in California, Florida, Oregon and Texas. And we maintain a bank of resources that are available to anyone.

Educators, healthcare workers, faculty, community partners and people of conscience play an important role in supporting our immigrant community from the threats of deportation. We must be the firewall between immigration enforcement and the community that has placed their trust in us to educate their children or placed their health in our hands. We must adopt safe, welcoming policies that help keep families together; promote public safety; and reaffirm that schools, hospitals and places of worship are free from ICE enforcement actions.

To access the AFT’s resources, go to our immigration information hub. To add your voice to the protests against ICE raids in schools, hospitals and places of worship, click here.

[Virginia Myers]