ICE says it will leave schools alone

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ICE officials have told local school superintendents they have no plans to raid schools in search of undocumented students.

Still, Buffalo school administrators said that, while they feel somewhat reassured by the intentions laid out by local ICE officials, they are still taking extra precautions to protect students’ rights and safety.

“There are still people that could act on their own to intimidate and make students and families feel uncomfortable. So although it’s some reassurance, I think we still need to remain vigilant,” said Board of Education Member Lawrence Scott.

Buffalo Public Schools since December have proclaimed their commitment to protecting students of all citizenship statuses and bracing for changes in immigration enforcement policies.

There are more than 40,000 students  – 30,000 in Buffalo Public Schools and more than 10,000 in the city’s charter schools – enrolled in the district, with more than 100 countries represented and more than 80 languages spoken in classrooms, according to school officials. 

About 2,100 of nearly 3,800 foreign-born children in Buffalo enrolled in grades K-12 are not U.S. citizens, according to U.S. Census figures. It is unclear how many of these students attend Buffalo public schools, charter schools or schools in other districts.

It’s also unknown how many of them might be undocumented, as the district’s regulations prohibit staff from collecting or sharing information about a student’s immigration status.

The seven most commonly spoken languages in the Buffalo Public Schools – Spanish, Arabic, Karen, Somali, Burmese, Swahili and Bengali – represent 80 percent of the district’s English language learners, a district  spokesperson said.

New York State law declares that all children have the right to free public education regardless of citizenship.

President Donald Trump in January overturned a 13-year-old policy which forbade ICE agents from entering “sensitive” locations like schools, although a White House spokesperson said no such raids have taken place. Still, Buffalo school officials reiterated that they won’t cooperate with the agency unless legally mandated.

“I think it’s important for us as a district, as a board, to convey a clear message on where we stand,” Scott said.

The district in December passed a resolution that Scott proposed affirming the rights of all students, including those with immigrant and undocumented status. 

The resolution states that “the Board and BPS will not permit access to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to BPS buildings, students, and staff, unless legally required to do so.”

Superintendent Tonja Williams Knight last month sent letters to families doubling down on the district’s commitment to creating “safe, welcoming spaces” for all students.

Some Buffalo charter schools are following similar protocols.

“We will not let ICE in unless there is a signed judicial warrant. All student information is protected at all times. We are ensuring student safety,” said Kara Oliver-Perez, director of communications at Buffalo Charter School for Applied Technologies, the largest charter school in New York State.

Other school districts like Cleveland Hill in Cheektowaga have taken a more relaxed approach after hearing directly from ICE officials that students are not being targeted.

“I think that there are people right now with good intentions exercising a little bit too much of a concern,” said Cleveland-Hill Superintendent Jon MacSwan.

Members of the Erie-Niagara School Superintendents Association met with Terry Dunford, the communications director for Buffalo’s ICE field office, two weeks ago.

Dunford told the superintendents that ICE agents are only seeking people who have committed felonies, overstayed visas or are on the country’s terrorist watch list, according to MacSwan.

“There's actually a very limited scope of people that they are looking for at this point, and he reassured us that they are not coming into schools, they are not looking for kids,” he said.

Although there were some concerns before the superintendents’ meeting, MacSwan said his school district hadn’t taken any additional measures.

“Most law enforcement, in my understanding, have a pretty clear view of the fact that school is a safe place for kids and that we will not be bothered here with outside issues,” he said. “If anyone from law enforcement comes in on a non-school-related issue, they cannot have access to the kids, and if there's any issue with that, they should contact me directly.”

The community here is nevertheless on edge.

“I think that teachers are doing their best to try to allay their concerns,” said Rich Nigro, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation.

While reports of immigrant families keeping their children home from school for fear of ICE raids have been circulating nationally, officials from both the Buffalo and Cleveland Hill school districts said they haven’t noticed drops in attendance.

I'Jaz Ja'ciel