ICE in California schools: Here’s what you need to know

Protests have erupted across the country in opposition to President Donald Trump’s policies around mass deportations, including at Chico State.

The backlash toward the policies focus largely on orders to end birthright citizenship and allow for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enter previously designated “protected” areas, like churches, courthouses and schools.

California lawmakers are working to “Trump-proof” the state and tackle federal deportation policies.

One piece of legislation introduced to the state senate focuses on ICE’s ability to go to schools. If passed, SB 48 would require ICE agents to have a judicial warrant to be able to walk onto campus.

School districts, offices of education or charter schools would be barred from providing any information about students, family members or teachers to ICE agents without a judicial warrant. And for students specifically, agents would need written parental consent to see any educational or personal documentation.

Kristina Lovato, an assistant professor at the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare, said unlike an administrative warrant issued by a federal agency, a judicial warrant needs to be signed by a federal judge. It also has parameters around the time frame a warrant can be valid and what specifically can be gathered by an agent.

Under existing law, school communities do not have to legally comply with administrative warrants since they do not authorize searches. However, judicial warrants must be complied with.

“This actually is really important for schools and other institutions to know about that,” Lovato said. “ICE agents must actually have a judicial warrant with them. If they don't, this really prevents schools from sharing any information with immigration authorities without a warrant or parental consent.”

When coming face to face with ICE agents, school officials can ask if they have a warrant and if they can examine it.

But Lovato said that if an officer claims to have urgent circumstances, or emergency cases that allow for warrantless searches, school staff should not interfere. That’s because it can be subject to prosecution under federal law.

If agents show school officials an administrative arrest or a removal warrant, they are not required to authorize the agents to enter non-public areas of campuses, like the inside of buildings.

“Schools are becoming very aware, and having to become aware of these intricacies and nuances in the law,” Lovato said.

If SB 48 were enacted, additional protections in schools would also apply. For example, local and state law enforcement would be prohibited from working with ICE agents within a mile of a school site.

As of now, the bill is set to be reviewed by the Senate Standing Committees on Education and Public Safety.

Another bill introduced aims to create an alert system at schools and colleges to notify campus communities of ICE agent’s presence. The alert system proposed in SB 98 would work similarly to warning systems already in place for emergencies.

“Of course, it's important for caregivers, parents to know when a threat like this is present,” Lovato said. “So this particular senate bill provides that kind of necessity to inform parents and caregivers.”

The bill was also referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Education and the Standing Committee on Judiciary.

Earlier this month, state bill AB 421 was introduced in the state assembly and would generally prohibit local and state law enforcement from helping immigration authorities within a mile of places like daycare and childcare centers.

Though bills moving through the California legislature do provide some safeguards to ICE deportations, they haven’t been passed. This means there is currently no guarantee that schools are safe from ICE visits, and Lovato said visits are possible in California.

“Essentially, ICE may visit a school and ask for the whereabouts of a minor and/or a parent. They might even ask to see identification. But it's really important that minors know that they do not need to respond,” she said.

However, if ICE is conducting mass arrests by rounding people up, it would be violating people’s constitutional rights.

That’s because ICE agents are supposed to have probable cause that a specific person is breaking immigration laws.

Jehan Laner is a senior staff attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. The center works to educate immigrants on their legal rights.

She said that in mass arrest situations, they don’t have probable cause.

“They're usually relying on something that's less than probable cause, and something that's often illegal to detain somebody, so that could be racially profiling or different things like that, that don't actually meet the muster of probable cause, and that's where we see constitutional violations,” Laner said.

A majority of ICE arrests are targeted arrests for people who had previous deportation orders or contact with the immigration system, according to Laner.

She said it’s unlikely that a student would be the subject of a targeted arrest, but arrests have happened just outside of school that target parents dropping off their children. Targets could also be staff or teachers.

Though California’s bills have not passed, schools and people can still exercise their constitutional rights.

This includes the Fourth Amendment right against unlawful search and seizures in private areas without reasonable suspicion.

“It can't be something like you look like an immigrant. It has to be that you are exhibiting some type of suspicious behavior that you don't have status here in the past,” Laner said.

People’s Fifth Amendment rights ensure that they do not have to answer questions without an attorney present. The Sixth Amendment also protects the right to speak with an attorney.

“We just want to remind people that you still have the right to remain silent, no matter what kind of intimidation they're giving you, you can continue to say, ‘I'm using my right to remain silent,’” Laner said.

Both Laner and Lovato said families should create a preparedness plan.

These plans can include establishing who might take care of children if parents or caregivers are deported and ensuring they have their proper documentation like a U.S. passport. Families can also get connected to a legal representative to determine if they are eligible for immigration benefits.

Lovato said families should be prepared to stay silent. That means exercising their Fifth Amendment rights and not answering any questions about immigration status or giving out personal information without an attorney present.

“It's really being explicit, even with young children, about the plan in place, so that there isn't any confusion, and that it really helps to reduce fear and anxiety that's already present,” she said.

Schools are also preparing for potential ICE raids. Districts like the Santa Ana Unified School District have put together training videos for staff and teachers on how to prepare for a potential ICE visit.

Lovato said some schools have also hosted Know Your Rights workshops. These workshops aim to educate people on their rights under the U.S. Constitution and also provide resources for people on dealing with ICE.

A common resource given out at these workshops are Red Cards. This is a printed card that lists people’s rights and how they can respond to ICE agents in different languages.

Recently, a Know Your Rights workshop was scheduled at the Chico State campus by NorCal Resist. University administration asked the organizers to postpone the event for safety reasons. It will be hosted by a different organization, but has yet to be rescheduled.

Some schools have also provided Rapid Response Network Hotlines to families. If someone sees an ICE agent, they can call their local rapid response hotline. A dispatcher will then document the activity and connect people affected to legal services as soon as possible.

The Sacramento Rapid Response Network hosted through NorCal Resist serves areas of the North State including Butte, Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties. They can be contacted at 916-382-0256.

When families call NorCal Resist’s hotline during an immigration arrest, volunteers can walk them through their encounter with ICE. They can also send attorneys to go speak with people arrested and let them know their legal options.

Lovato is also the director of The Center on Immigration and Child Welfare Initiative. It’s part of the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare, and it conducts research to help influence programs and policies relating to immigrant children and families.

Lovato said research from the center has shown that in cases where families are separated due to deportation, children are likely to experience forms of trauma.

“It's a traumatic episode to witness the arrest and or removal of one or more parents, sometimes both losing parents and caregivers is fundamentally traumatizing,” she said.

In these situations, children may lose their homes and be forced into the child welfare system if another caretaker isn’t present. They might also have to transfer schools.

Watching a parent or caregiver be deported can cause negative emotional outcomes.

“They may experience severe anxiety for fear of losing another family member, or sometimes even if they are citizens themselves, youth may feel that they might be deported themselves,” Lovato said. “It's a bit of an irrational fear. But yet, in this anti immigrant climate, it is the reality that children and youth are experiencing fears of.”

Lovato said it can also lead to depression, grief, sleeplessness, nightmares and a loss of appetite. This can also impact performance in school and other areas of life.

“Trauma can be a long lasting impact that can occur, and so we want to prevent that at all costs,” Lovato said.