President Donald Trump’s immigration policies will impact New York students. School advocates, educators, and administrators across the state are coming together to protect kids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. More than 250,000 living or who’ve lived in the state received deportation orders.
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising, says families and students are worried about how quickly this could happen.
“We’re hearing from people that many children are terrified that if they go to school, their parents won’t be there when they come home. That’s no way to learn. We’re hearing from people that many students, indeed whole classrooms, are terrified that their close friends who are students won’t be at their desks tomorrow. None of this is OK,” she explained.
While many New York officials are pledging to fight Trump’s deportation orders, some are aiding the new administration. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is allowing ICE to deputize some county police detectives to help with mass deportations. The county and Rensselaer County upstate have legal agreements in place allowing this to occur.
The state’s Education Department is providing guidance about safeguarding immigrant students’ rights. Federal law prevents schools from giving out students’ information unless presented with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.
Dan McNeil, general counsel for the American Federation of Teachers says knowing the law can help educators keep students safe.
“A judicial warrant authorizes the search and seizure or an arrest, and it requires prompt compliance. But again, this should be reviewed by counsel before it’s complied with. And an ICE warrant, or an administrative warrant, does not require immediate access,” he said.
2022 data from the Center for Migration Studies finds more than 100,000 kids of immigrants were enrolled in school across New York State. But, this has greatly increased since there are 7 million immigrants living in the state.
Edwin is a reporter and producer in North Tonawanda, New York. He’s previously reported for the Niagara Gazette and the Ithaca Times. Edwin got an early start in radio interning for WBFO-88.7FM, NPR’s Buffalo affiliate. In 2018, he graduated from SUNY Buffalo State College with a B.A. in Journalism, and in 2022, graduated from Syracuse University with an M.S. in Communications.