'Schools should remain a safe zone': Phoenix school districts take steps to barr ICE activity on campus

School districts have implemented “safe zones” at campuses across the Valley in response to an incident involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Following the detainment of two individuals along the fence line of one of the Roosevelt Elementary School District’s schools — an incident witnessed by concerned community members and called out by local leaders — the district released a statement reaffirming their “commitment to student and family safety.” While the statement reiterates that there has been no ICE presence on any of their campuses, the district’s Governing Board preemptively adopted the Safe and Inclusive School Environment Policy. 

The policy states that the district will not permit ICE presence on their campuses without a valid judicial warrant or legal order, that school staff will not inquire about the immigration status of a student or family member and that the district will protect students’ privacy and information regarding their immigration status. It was adopted in February of this year following Donald Trump’s inauguration and has prompted several other school districts in the Valley to follow suit. 

“There are several school districts here in the Phoenix metro area that have passed these resolutions. Right now, I don't know if those things are taken into consideration, just given what this administration has or hasn't taken as legal, but these resolutions themselves should be enough for ICE agents to not come near schools,” Anaiis Ballesteros, vice president of external affairs at Arizona Latino Leaders (ALL) in Education, said in reference to similar resolutions and statements made by Phoenix Union High School District, Washington Elementary School District and other Valley districts. 

With the sweeping ICE raids taking place across the country and the number of people detained increasing — over 58,000 migrants are currently in detention, according to the NBC deportation tracker — the Trump Administration’s campaign promise of the “largest deportation” in U.S. history has left no stone unturned and no place untouched by the rampant efforts, including schools. Which, in a city where over 41% of its population identifies as Hispanic and Latino, has left many Phoenix parents, students and educators on edge.

“Schools should remain a safe zone. It should be a place where families feel safe knowing that their kids are going there… It shouldn't be somewhere where they feel that there is a threat to their safety. It's a place of learning for students, and this is not allowing for students to learn. It's causing traumas, it's causing stress, anxiety and that's just not what we believe school should be,” Ballesteros said. “For educators or parents that are Latino, regardless of their immigration status, it has to be hard for them to know that coming to work can result in a situation like what has been happening where people are detained regardless of their immigration status. So, this is going to not only impact student learning, but it's also going to impact how we can attract, retain and cultivate talent within our school systems, particularly Latino and people of color, to become educators and to be part of the system.”

According to a recent study conducted by Barnett Family Professor Dr. Thomas S. Dee of Stanford University, the unprecedented uptick in daily ICE raids “increased counts of student absences from school by 22% percent.” 

In their released statement, Washington Elementary School District — whose student body is over 55% Hispanic and Latino —  highlighted that parents, guardians and students “expressed fear and confusion about the continued physical and emotional safety of all students.” In an attempt to continue to safely provide students their right to an education without putting them at risk of detainment, districts like Phoenix Union — whose student body is 86% Latino — have even offered virtual learning options and “Know Your Rights” workshops for families. 

“It’s long been a policy of ICE to avoid targeting “sensitive locations” like schools, churches, or hospitals for immigration enforcement actions. Less than 24 hours after his inauguration, President Trump reversed this policy,” the American Civil Liberties Union published earlier this year in a commentary calling for schools to protect their students while still following the law. “But just because ICE can now show up at a school for an enforcement action, teachers and school administrators still have the right and responsibility to protect their students under the U.S. Constitution and federal and state law.”

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that granted the Trump administration’s request to pause a court order barring “patrols” from detaining and questioning people based on how they look, speak, where they work and where they were at the time of detainment, Ballesteros said that while the protections being implemented by districts are a great start, parents should get more involved in school districts so more put them into place.

“We really encourage parents to have a plan, talk to their kids about what's happening and then also to the school. The school is always a really great resource for families, and one thing we promote is parent engagement and caregiver involvement in the schools, and seeing the school as a partner,” Ballesteros said. “Parents have a right to be advocates in schools. If a school district does not have a safe zone resolution, go to a school board meeting and urge your school board to pass that type of resolution, and that can be passed in a traditional school district or charter schools. So, we really encourage parents to be those active voices in their community, and really urge schools to pass those resolutions, because we are our best advocates.”

Analisa Valdez (she/her) is a freelance journalist based in Phoenix. Her reporting includes community & culture, social justice, arts, business, and politics.