On January 23, Donald Trump authorized the conduction of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeted action –commonly referred to as raids– in sanctuary cities, those that try to limit cooperation with federal immigration policies, in places such as hospitals and schools in an effort to, “protect American citizens against invasion,” according to NPR.
Regardless of your opinion on immigration, ICE targeted action in schools and other “protected spots” is unconstitutional. If school is a place for learning and growing, committed to creating safe and inclusive environments, no school board should be allowing these policies that threaten kids’ lives or supporting an administration that works against them. It’s purely unethical.
In the 1982 case of Plyler v Doe, the Supreme Court ruled that students cannot be denied free public education based on immigration status, citing the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, which states that immigration policies cannot discriminate against people based on ethnicity, race, or sex.
However, according to data, updated to include 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Administrative Arrest Statistics, the most deportations are of those from Mexico, 242,027, which make up about 10.6% of the undocumented immigrant population. Deportations for those from other countries such as India or China have no more than 3,200, while those from China or India have the second and third largest share of immigrants with 2.8% and 2.5%. Despite the large number of undocumented immigrants from these countries, they do not compare to deportations of those from Central and South America.
Because Trump seems to be targeting minorities, there have been extreme rises in school absenteeism among these populations, which can impact how well students do in school. Furthermore, we have counselors and other administrators that are meant to help students overcome challenges, yet this rising sense of fear makes it much harder for students to even speak up about their feelings. Because of the fearmongering being contributed to by media outlets and the Trump Administration itself, students are affected academically, and our school community is impacted.
This fear has even impacted our teachers. In our very own school district, music teacher Jesus Rodriguez, from Forest Grove Elementary, left the country due to fear of deportation after the administration threatened to cut the humanitarian parole program Rodriguez was protected under.
To add to the already significant amount of fear, in March 2025, the Department of Homeland Security launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign, funded by American tax dollars, encouraging immigrants in the country to self-report, with Secretary Kristi Noem saying, “President Trump has a clear message: if you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you.” Overall, the Department of Homeland Security has made it abundantly clear: they will stop at nothing to “put America first,” despite threatening the well-being of people, especially on the American dollar. This ad isn’t just targeted towards immigrants, it’s meant to foster hate amongst Americans and divide the people.
In LCPS, superintendent Aaron Spence released a statement on January 30 stating, “We follow the law.” However, Spence did cite Plyler v. Doe in that it guarantees that children are safe from targeted action in the school place, adding that, “Every child in LCPS belongs. Every family is valued,” and they will continue to work to make school places a safe place.
Compared to several other school districts across the country, Spence is taking action to protect students, and that is something that several parents and administrators in the school community should be supporting through advocacy for policies that protect their children.
For example, in 2017, New York Public Schools implemented a policy titled the “Non-Local Law Enforcement Action and Inquiries” in order to protect children by enforcing that school security officers uphold the law by disallowing officers to come into schools without proper documentation, such as a warrant or subpoena, a clear reason for the visit, or not without first contacting parents, the principal, and superintendent. Without any of this, it is unlawful for officers to enter the school
Because schools need to be a place to encourage growth, school boards need to implement policies such as these to promote safety and uphold the law. If students are not provided an environment which makes them feel comforted and secure, they cannot learn to their greatest capabilities. And for you, the reader, have some empathy towards those who do not look like you. Imagine moving to the United States for a better life, and you are treated with malice and hate. Don’t forget: immigrants are people, too.
