‘Anxiety’ in South Florida schools after Trump administration greenlights ICE raids
WLRN | By Natalie La Roche Pietri | January 30, 2025
South Florida school districts are committing to ensure student safety in the wake of federal policy changes that would allow federal immigration officers to conduct searches and arrests on school grounds.
The directive issued last week by the Department of Homeland Security Secretary removed restrictions preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from conducting raids on so-called sensitive locations, including schools, places of worship and hospitals.
So far there have been no reports of ICE raids on schools in the country. But a Broward school teacher said students are “really scared,” while a teachers union leader said the rhetoric coming from the administration could be traumatic for all students.
One immigration advocate told WLRN she is sending her child to school with a card spelling out his rights in case of an encounter with agents.
The Migration Policy Institute estimates 733,000 school-aged children were living in the United States in 2019 without legal status. The institute also estimated 68,000 kids ages 3 to 17 in Florida were undocumented.
A Trump administration official recently said the change in policy is to locate potential public safety threats no matter where they come from, but that it won’t be common practice to conduct immigration enforcement in schools.
In a memo to principals about the policy change, Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn spoke of the “anxiety” the current situation could cause. He also noted Gov. Ron DeSantis’ special legislative session on immigration.
“We are closely monitoring these developments and their implications for our schools and communities,” the memo reads. “Our district will provide updated guidance and additional information as it becomes available. We recognize that immigration-related issues can create uncertainty and anxiety among students, families, and staff. Please continue to provide a welcoming, safe, and supportive environment for all students.”
In Miami-Dade County Public Schools, deputy superintendent Michael Lewis also shared a message with principals.
“As your Region Superintendents shared with you, our District is currently reviewing recent changes to immigration matters. We recognize these changes to federal policies have raised questions. We are closely monitoring these developments and their implications for our schools to ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations,” the message shared with WLRN read.
“It is important that we all remain committed to maintaining a safe, welcoming, and consistent teaching and learning environments for all students and staff.”
Dr. Howard Hepburn, Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, speaks at a press conference regarding the first day of school in the district. High school students faced long lines to get in through the district’s new metal detectors.
Broward and Miami-Dade’s messages reminded that student records are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and no student information should be released without proper authorization.
Dade and Broward advised in their messages to notify the respective Office of General Counsel for proper guidance in the case of immigration or other law enforcement seeking student information.
The Palm Beach County School District said in a statement it “remain[s] dedicated to our mission of educating, empowering, and inspiring all students to reach their full potential.”
“The District adheres to strict protocols for all campus visitors and complies with all relevant state and federal laws and regulations. We will continue closely monitoring any federal or state policy changes that impact our schools,” the statement added.
A spokesperson for Monroe County District Schools said in a statement: “Monroe District Schools will first and foremost follow the law, however, we have policies in place that we will follow to make any interactions with students by outside agencies least disruptive to the school.”
Additionally, in a statement to WLRN a spokesperson added that superintendent Theresa Axford “has been in touch with the State Attorney and law enforcement so that the district receives any updated information that may require us to make adjustments.”
Protecting diversity
“Everybody in South Florida knows somebody that is undocumented,” United Teachers of Dade president Karla Hernandez-Mats told WLRN.
Hernandez-Mats said Dade’s multicultural and multinational diversity is a source of pride and should be protected.
“We want to make sure that everyone has equal access and they’re able to fulfill their dreams,” Hernandez-Mats said. “And so this makes our community uniquely vulnerable.”
Math teacher Jim Gard in Coconut Creek’s Monarch High School said some of his students have confided in him about what they’re feeling. “They’re scared, they’re really scared,” Gard said. “They’re scared for their families, their friends.”
At the school, 8% of students are English language learners and 42% are Hispanic.
Gard said there’s no reason to intrude on a child’s right to education. “School is hard enough the way it is,” he said.
In Texas, USA Today reported a teacher in Fort Worth is under investigation by district officials after allegedly asking ICE on social media to raid a public high school they teach at in the city.
“They’re scared, they’re really scared. They’re scared for their families, their friends … School is hard enough the way it is.”
Adriana Rivera, communications director at the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said the panic extends beyond undocumented immigrants.
“It’s also with U.S. citizens who are part of minority communities,” Rivera said. “The Hispanic community, Muslim, Asian — people are scared of being racially profiled.”
Rivera said parents and guardians — regardless of legal status — should speak to their children about what’s going on in an age-appropriate matter.
She gave her own son a script of what to tell officials if they come to his Orlando school.
“‘I will not speak to you without my parent or my lawyer present. It is my Fifth Amendment right.’ That’s it,” she said. “I also wrote the same little script on an index card and put it in his pencil case. And I told him, ‘If you forget what you have to say, here it is. You can also just give this card to the officer.’”
“Kids are smart, and they also deserve to know what’s going on around them,” Rivera said.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools sent schools a legal resource guide to share with parents. It was distributed only in English.
Resources-for-Immigrant-Families-revisedUnder federal law, a school district may not ask about a parent or child’s citizenship or immigration status for enrollment. Additionally, “all children in the United States are entitled to equal access to a basic public elementary and secondary education regardless of their… national origin, citizenship, immigration status, or the status of their parents/guardians.”
Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, said this week on CNN it wouldn’t be routine to go into schools or hospitals, but added that “national security threats and public safety threats have no safe haven in this country.”
Homan also said the administration’s crackdown on unauthorized immigration “shouldn’t be a chilling effect unless your child is a terrorist or a public safety threat.” If they are, “then they should be chilled, they should be afraid — because we’re looking for them.”
Hernandez-Kats, president of United Teachers of Dade, hit out at the message.
“Our children are not terrorists. Our children are not a threat to public safety,” she said. “When you create this dialogue that you say that you’re going to come into schools, you’re going to traumatize children.”
Not just undocumented kids or those of mixed-status families, she added, “but you’re also going to traumatize children that have nothing to do with the immigration system that were born in this country.”
Rivera said she wouldn’t be surprised if the administration began to use children as “political pawns” to lure undocumented parents to ICE.
“ We don’t put anything past Stephen Miller, or Tom Holman, or President Donald Trump, for that matter,” Rivera said. “They have shown us who they are and we know what we’re up against.”
