Donald Trump’s victory won’t allow immigration officials to rifle through student records and barge into classrooms, the Portland School Board voted unanimously on Thursday.
The resolution limiting federal immigration agents’ access to Portland schools comes a little more than a week after the election of Donald Trump, who promised during his campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
Trump was not invoked by name at the meeting, but it was clear his election was the catalyst.
“Regardless of what anyone says, whether it’s someone in the streets, at work or in our oval office we will look out for each other,” said school board member Julie Esparza Brown at the meeting.
“Even if there is no physical wall we have invisible walls built between us. Instead we must stand together as brothers and sisters.”
The mention of a wall is a clear reference to a centerpiece of Trump’s campaign: To build a wall along the Mexico border.
Although the resolution aims to steel the school against a threat of federal agents yanking children out of classrooms and snooping on families through school records, there is no indication this is likely or even possible.
Schools are barred from turning over a student’s immigration status to federal agents per the The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
The resolution says immigration employees can’t come on to campus without notifying the school.
Additionally, enforcement agents must provide written authorization and an explanation of why they want to enter the school, the resolution says. It also empowers the superintendent and district lawyer to ask agents for credentials and “evidence of reasonable suspicion.”
The resolution also calls for the superintendent to create a plan within 90 days to train teachers on how to react if immigration agents ask them about students. Teachers will also be trained on how to comfort students with family members who have been deported.
The rise of Trump has embroiled the nation in a heated debate about immigration policy that’s been felt acutely in schools. Universities, including Portland State, have erupted with student protests demanding “sanctuary campus” commitments to rebuff immigration raids.
Portland Public Schools students have walked out in protest and on Tuesday interim Superintendent Bob McKean told families the district had seen a significant rise in of hate speech since the election.
Los Angeles’ public schools already had a resolution in place similar to Portland Public Schools, but after the election they decided to reaffirm it, according to the Los Angeles Times.
