MPS becomes a ‘safe haven’
Joining school districts around the country, the Milwaukee School Board on Thursday passed a resolution declaring itself a safe haven for students and families threatened by deportation and vowing to oppose the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents “by all legal means available.”
The unanimous vote drew a standing ovation from the crowd, many of them students, parents and teachers.
“Schools are sanctuaries … where children come to learn … where children come for peace (and) for hope,” said board member Tatiana Joseph, co-sponsor of the resolution. She came to the United States from Costa Rica as an undocumented child herself and lived in fear for years that her parents could be arrested and deported.
“It is my responsibility as a board member who represents over 70,000 children to protect them, whether you’re documented or undocumented,” she said to applause.
Superintendent Darienne Driver endorsed
the measure and acknowledged the students in the crowd.
“Seeing all of you here tonight makes us so proud. Words can’t really describe it,” she said.
The vote followed more than 90 minutes of testimony, often emotional and overwhelmingly supportive, and a rally before the meeting organized by Youth in the Struggle, an arm of the advocacy group Voces de la Frontera, which provided advice on the resolution.
One by one, speakers stepped to the podium to share their stories: of arduous journeys to a new country, of fears that parents could be deported, of proud parents who saw their children grow and blossom in schools where they felt safe. They urged and pleaded with board members to pass the resolution.
With Thursday’s vote, MPS joins numerous school districts around the country that have passed similar measures in the wake of President Donald Trump’s steppedup enforcement of U.S. immigration laws aimed at deporting vast numbers of undocumented immigrants.
Trump had made immigration enforcement a hallmark of his campaign, vilifying undocumented immigrants as miscreants and criminals. And he made good on that rhetoric in January, signing an executive order that dramatically broadened the offenses for which undocumented persons could be deported and resurrecting a program that authorizes local law enforcement agencies to work with ICE to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants.
ICE maintains that it does not typically arrest individuals at “sensitive locations,” such as schools and churches. However, aggressive arrests around the country, including one of a father who had just dropped off his daughter at school have heightened fears.
The MPS resolution was written with help from parents, students, teachers and others. Among other things, it:
Bars MPS staff, contractors, volunteers and representatives from using district resources to aid in the arrest of a person “whose only violation of the law” is that they are — or are suspected of being — undocumented. (It does not address undocumented persons with criminal records.)
Prohibits sharing a student’s or guardian’s immigration status, or other protected information, without a valid court order or signed release.
Establishes a precise protocol for steps to be taken if ICE or its designee attempts to enter a school. Among them: Ask and make copies of agents’ IDs and warrants if they have them; and contact the student’s parent or guardian, as well as the district’s attorney.
Gives Driver 30 days to create an immigration advisory group; develop resources for students, families and staff; and encourages city and county representatives to establish “a safe-haven perimeter” within which families can feel safe bringing their children to school.