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Education officials across New Hampshire are trying to figure out how they will handle immigration enforcement on school grounds, after federal protections against such activities were lifted during President Trump’s first week in office.
The New Hampshire School Administrators Association has reached out to legal organizations and others for guidance, Executive Director Mark MacLean said in an email.
“It’s unclear to education leaders [at this point] what impacts this will have on schools,” he said.
MacLean said his team has been told that a critical 1982 court decision, Plyler v. Doe, which requires schools to provide students a public education regardless of immigration status, is still “the law of the land.”
“However, we need informed guidance on how to correctly respond to questions and how variances in state and federal law impact education decisions,” he said.
Different approaches across districts
In a letter to families last week, Manchester School District officials said they do not collect information about students’ immigration or citizenship status, nor do they share students’ personal information with law enforcement or federal immigration officials without a court order.
That letter did not explicitly state the district’s position on cooperating with ICE officials. Asked for clarification on how they would handle immigration detention orders or judicial warrants, Manchester School District spokesperson Andrew Toland said, “We will comply with lawful orders.”
The Concord School District has instructed staff to contact the superintendent if ICE or any law enforcement presents a judicial warrant allowing them to enter the building. Nashua school superintendent Mario Andrade said he gave his staff similar guidance.
Other immigration enforcement documents, including administrative warrants and subpoenas, do not require the same compliance in a school, home, or workplace a judicial warrant does, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
“We have directed our staff to continue to follow our policy, which is not to release students to anyone other than a legal guardian or to someone who has been approved by the parent outside of a warrant signed by a judge,” said Pamela Walsh, president of the Concord School Board.
Mario Andrade, Nashua’s superintendent, said he’s also reminded staff not to share information about students, as required by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. And, social workers and family engagement liaisons in the schools are working with families who have questions and concerns, he said.
"This is not our first time with detainers, it’s just a bigger issue because it’s become a policy thing with the president."Nashua Sgt. John Cinelli
“We find often that close knit community has a stronger value than a statement from the superintendent,” Andrade said.
Nashua’s police department cooperates with federal law enforcement, including ICE, when agents have court documents approving an arrest, said Sgt. John Cinelli. That policy has been in place for at least two decades, he said.
When an officer encounters someone with an ICE detainer, the officer confirms the detainer with ICE and places the person under arrest until ICE assumes custody, Cinelli said. That’s been a department policy since about 2011, he said.
“This is not our first time with detainers, it’s just a bigger issue because it’s become a policy thing with the president,” he said. “We are trying to steer clear of the politics and do the job we’ve always done and do it to the best of our ability.”
He said the department has a good relationship with the city’s diverse populations and does not want those groups to feel targeted.
“We are not going to just detain people and ask ICE if they want them if there is no paperwork in the system,” Cinelli said.
More information from the National Immigration Law Center: Warrants and Subpoenas — What to Look Out for and How to Respond
Major law firm shares more guidance
Several other New Hampshire school districts referred NHPR to their law firm, DrummondWoodsum, for more information. The firm shared a copy of a memo it sent to school districts last week, which outlined advice around immigration enforcement.
The memo from DrummondWoodsum to school districts contemplated what could happen if a student’s parents or guardian are detained while a child is in school. They advised schools to encourage families to update their emergency contacts and designate someone to pick up the child if a parent is unavailable. If there is no emergency contact, the firm said schools should contact the Division of Children, Youth and Families.
The law firm also advised schools to limit the personal information they keep on students and to refrain from asking students about their citizenship or immigration status of their parents.
In cases where schools must collect a student’s place of birth or entry to the country to comply with federal or state programs, DrummondWoodsum suggested that information should be kept separate from the students’ education file and “destroyed as soon as it is no longer needed.”
The law firm emphasized, in a separate statement provided to NHPR, that “federal agencies have long advised schools not to maintain records of a student’s immigration status because doing so could be evidence of national origin discrimination.” They said they would never instruct schools to violate the law or obstruct law enforcement.
“Schools are often faced with the challenging situation where they are required to quickly respond to frequently-changing federal rules and policies, reassure their community, and answer questions from their teachers and staff – this situation is no different,” the law firm wrote. “The advice we gave was similar to that provided by attorneys general in other states and was intended to support our clients in this time of uncertainty.”
Impacts on local families
The uncertainty around what might be in store for immigration enforcement inside local schools has created concern even for some families who are living here legally.
Hamisi Juma came to the U.S. as a refugee from Democratic Republic of Congo 15 years ago and has since become a U.S. citizen. Today, he lives in Manchester with his family and runs Safari Youth Club, an after school program that serves many refugee families.
Even though his children are U.S. citizens, he said they’re nervous about being questioned about their immigration status. He’s been trying to prepare them on how to respond.
“I told them like if something happened like that, just tell them, ‘Our parents are citizens, and we didn't come here just by ourselves. We come as a refugee,’” Juma said. “But still there is the frustration, like, ‘Papa what if they just get us and they don’t even give us a chance to talk?’”
"Now you’re worried about, if I’m going out, maybe they’re going to arrest me or take away my kid. Imagine how that is. It’s more trauma."Hamisi Juma, of Manchester
Juma said he’s seeing other immigrant and refugee families dealing with similar fears, and he’s been trying to help people navigate that uncertainty. He said he’s working to educate people about their rights during potential encounters with ICE or law enforcement.
He said many refugees, after arriving in the United States, are concerned about how they are going to pay their bills, or raise their kids.
“And now you’re worried about, if I’m going out, maybe they’re going to arrest me or take away my kid,” Juma said. “Imagine how that is. It’s more trauma.”
Do you have questions or concerns about immigration enforcement in New Hampshire schools? Contact us at news@nhpr.org. We won't publish any personal information you share without your permission, but your perspective will help us better report on this issue.
