South Florida teachers unions dispel rumors of ICE raids in schools

With rumors of federal immigration raids in schools swirling, and citing anecdotal increased absenteeism in some schools, the teachers unions of Miami-Dade and Broward held a press conference on Thursday in order to clarify the situation on immigration enforcement in public schools.

Although they insisted no raids had taken place, they acknowledged one teacher — who had been the recipient of a program for adults who were brought to the United States illegally as children — is currently facing potential deportation.

The uncertainty began to swell after the Trump Administration reversed a Biden-era policy that designated schools, places of worship and healthcare facilities as areas “protected” from immigration enforcement agents.

"Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement. "The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense."

The reversal of the policy does not open schools for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to engage in full-blown immigration raids, union leaders cautioned. Schools have rigorous safety protocols that even apply to federal officials, they said.

“They do not have a free-for-all, they cannot just come into a school, they cannot walk around. They are not allowed. We have safety protocols,” said Karla Hernandez-Mats, the president of United Teachers of Dade, the Miami-Dade teachers union.

The process requires any immigration official to present a warrant signed by a federal judge for access to an individual person. Any such warrant would first be reviewed by the school district to verify that it is legally sufficient for entering school grounds.

“There have been no ICE raids in any schools, I want to make that clear,” said Hernandez-Mats.

The Miami-Dade School District told WLRN it has not seen a decrease in attendance on a districtwide basis.

Broward Teachers Union president Anna Fusco also said that no ICE raids have taken place in schools. The school district and Superintendent Howard Hepburn have informed teachers and administrators of what to do in the case that ICE agents appear at a school, even with a warrant, she said.

“We’re not gonna break the law, but we don’t agree with it. We know that our students have to come to schools and be safe,” said Fusco. “Parents, they know us. We’re well-known in the community and they trust us that their kids can go to school and they’re gonna be protected.”

Fusco said some schools saw lower attendance this week, but suggested that had more to do with a national “Day Without Immigrants” protest that took place across the nation on Monday than a general fear of attendance.

In a statement, Broward County Public Schools acknowledged to WLRN that attendance did drop on that day, on Feb. 3, "but it has since normalized." Overall attendance since Inauguration Day on Jan. 20 has actually increased, added the district.

Federal privacy law bans school teachers and administrators from disclosing private information about students in the same way that doctors are barred from sharing private information about patients. Besides that fact, school districts do not collect information about immigration status in the first place. For that reason, both teachers unions are advising members to simply not talk with any federal immigration authorities, period.

“We don’t get paid to be ICE agents,” said Hernandez-Mats. “You have the right to remain silent, you do not share any information, period.”

Teachers and students in both school districts are alarmed and even scared, leading to disinformation and rumors, said the union leaders. Hernandez-Mats said a rumor spread that ICE agents had entered a Miami-Dade school earlier this week, when it was actually a metal detector sweep handled by the school district, a normal operation.

DACA teacher facing deportation

But at least one school has been immediately impacted by federal immigration authorities under the Trump Administration.

A middle school science teacher who was previously a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was detained at a recent hearing and is currently facing potential deportation, said Hernandez-Mats.

Hernandez-Mats declined to give the name of the middle school the teacher taught in, saying she did not want to create additional chaos or stress for the community there.

A 2017 study from the Migration Policy Institute estimated that about 8,800 DACA recipients are school teachers across the country, although more current numbers have not been published from that study.

During heightened fears about ICE raids in the first Trump Administration, in 2017, then-Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho declared at a press conference: "Over my dead body shall anybody remove any child from the sanctity of our classrooms, from the sanctuaries that schools represent in our community."

In Los Angeles, where he is now Superintendent of schools, Carvalho has distributed "know your rights" cards to students in anticipation of ICE potentially showing up to schools.

Since the Trump Administration reversed the Biden-era policy opening schools up to immigration enforcement, the Miami-Dade school district has sent information to principals and administrators about the legal obligation to withhold private information about students and to contact the administration for any legal issues that arise, such as reviewing warrants from immigration officers.

But compared to 2017, the school district has not been as vocal or public about the issue or dispelling rumors, potentially reflecting a rightward shift in the make-up of the school board members.

"Do I wish that there were more people out there saying things? Yes I do," said Hernandez-Mats. "I do believe that [Superintendent] Dr. Jose Dotres has the same sentiment, that the school board has the same sentiment, I just don't understand what the politics behind it is."
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