The Lee County School District emailed parents Tuesday after President Trump's executive order overturned a directive requiring special protection against ICE agents in schools.
Under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers can now enforce its policies in what were once "protected" areas.
This means ICE agents can once again arrest people in schools, churches, hospitals, and shelters.
The U.S. Department of Education does not ask students for citizenship documentation upon registration, and student records cannot be provided without a subpoena.
NBC2 spoke with Adriana Rivera, a member of the Florida Immigrant Coalition...but first, she is a mom to an 11-year-old boy.
"We are Puerto Rican, but my son still doesn't speak English to a point where he doesn't need the extra support. So these are kids that are especially vulnerable. And I had to explain to him. I had to give him a script. I gave him a little card that he would put in his pencil case in case anything were to happen," said Rivera.
Even though her son is a U.S. citizen, she worries he may be profiled since he's still learning English.
"And he had a lot of questions. He was very confused, but I tried to do it as close to his level of comprehension as possible, explaining things in an age-appropriate way. But of course, I've seen it in my own household that this is something children are concerned about," Rivera said.
We also spoke to parents at Seagate Elementary about the topic. One mom, Denise Murray, said that if the children are here illegally, they should go, though she doesn’t believe ICE is specifically targeting schools.
"But I do think that if the parents are undocumented and then children are not legal citizens, then that collectively, as a family, they should be sent back to come back in legally," said Murray.
According to the Florida Department of Education, under the Florida Consent Decree, the civil rights of English Language Learners (ELL) gives students the right to equal access to all education programs.
- Any student who lives in any state and is of compulsory school age is entitled to equal access to public school. This student need only produce evidence of residence in the attendance zone of the school district.
- No district shall classify students as non-residents based upon their immigration status.
- No district shall inquire into a student’s or their parents’ immigration status.
The following statement includes that all of these civil rights are protected as long as they are in accordance with federal law.
Meaning, that President Trump's executive order will force Florida public schools to comply. As solidified in an email from the Lee County School District:
"Dear SDLC Families and Staff,
"Recently, new executive orders have been issued. It is essential to understand that the School District of Lee County must follow the law. The law states that students are entitled to education regardless of their immigration status. The school district will comply with properly served judicial orders or lawfully served warrants.
"Thank you for your partnership and understanding."
The Collier County School District stated,
"At this juncture, we have no indication that Federal agents are planning to visit our schools. If that should happen, we will review the issues involved on a case-by-case basis in consultation with our Legal Department."
Collier County Public Schools states it had the sixth highest percentage of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the state of Florida, and Lee has the second, following Miami-Dade County.
As for knowing a student's status:
- Districts should not request proof of immigration status such as alien registration number, tourist visa, passport, etc. In order to fulfill its requirement for eligibility ... the only information that may be required from undocumented students is their country of birth and the date they entered a United States school.
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