Colorado schools commit to protecting students ahead of potential mass deportation

A mixture of fear and uncertainty hangs over Colorado school districts as they begin to navigate the looming threat of mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump and figure out how to protect their students.

It’s a particularly thorny question for districts that have seen an influx of migrant students in recent years, including Denver Public Schools, which last year opened up its classrooms to an estimated 4,000 students from Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico.

Trump has resoundingly called for mass deportation of undocumented migrants, saying on the campaign trail that he intends to roll out “the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America” starting the first day of his second term. The scope of his plan is unclear, but educators across Colorado are meeting his deportation agenda with a resolve to keep their immigrant students safe. In statements provided to The Colorado Sun from districts and the Colorado Department of Education, state and local leaders have echoed one another in a vow to protect their students.

Promises by districts to shield students from deportation and preserve their right to education are reinforced by federal and state law. Schools cannot deny enrollment to students based on immigration status, ensuring all kids have access to a free public education, per a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plyler v. Doe in 1982. Additionally, provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of protected classes including national origin, race and color.

“We stand ready to support our state’s schools with guidance and resources for supporting all students,” CDE spokesperson Jeremy Meyer wrote in an emailed statement.

The state education department Friday emailed recommendations to superintendents to help them continue supporting immigrant students and families. Among the reminders the department provided is federal guidance spelling out that “schools are protected spaces where federal immigration authorities should not conduct immigration activities.”

The department also encouraged district leaders to share with their school communities that schools do not seek, collect or track students’ immigration status. That information plays no part in a student’s right to enroll in a public school, according to federal law.

Meanwhile, some Colorado districts say they simply do not have enough information about Trump’s deportation plans to know what action they will need to take to safeguard students. Many districts are just starting conversations about what their role might look like.

And some districts are stressing over jeopardizing the safety of their immigrant students and families.

One superintendent of a rural school district expressed deep concerns with highlighting local policies aimed at protecting kids and families, worried it “may end up inadvertently targeting our district, teams, and most importantly, the students and families we are committed to serving.”

Most district officials that spoke to The Sun didn’t want to discuss specifics, and many others wouldn’t address the topic at all, not wanting to call attention to their district’s students. 

“All students deserve a secure and nurturing environment”

In DPS, the state’s largest district with about 85,000 students, board member Scott Esserman has been particularly vocal about the need to defend students’ right to education, regardless of their background. 

At a board work session earlier this month, Esserman doubled down on a board commitment to protect immigrant and undocumented students, pledging to pass additional board policies to keep those students safe.

“We will take care of you,” he said during the work session. “That’s our responsibility.”

Esserman told The Sun that, following the election, he wanted families to hear straight from the board about its intentions to ensure schools remain safe spaces.

The Daily Sun-Up podcast | More episodes

“Given the significant amount of dis-ease that we know is going on, I felt like it was more important than ever to make that statement and let our families know that we’re supporting them,” Esserman said, calling the threat of deportation a “violation of human rights” and a disruption to families who are trying to make Colorado their home.

He noted that he must consult families who could be deported, school leaders and other board members about the kinds of critical board policies that would further secure student safety.

“What’s critical is the people who are most impacted by any policy have voice in what that looks like,” Esserman said, “and I want to make sure that we are responsive to the needs of those communities.”

Administration from at least one DPS school — Merrill Middle School — emailed parents a few days after the election to reassure them that the school’s first priority is its students and families.

“During times like these, it is more important than ever to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment for every student, regardless of their immigration status or the status of their families,” Principal Patrice Underwood wrote. “At Merrill, our highest priority is the well-being and education of every child who walks through our doors. We believe that all students deserve a secure and nurturing environment where they can learn, grow, and thrive without fear or concern for their safety or privacy. In line with our values, we are committed to protecting the privacy of all students and their families, including immigration status, in full compliance with federal and state laws.”

DPS as a whole “is monitoring the situation while we continue to serve, support and protect all of our students as we always have,” district spokesperson Scott Pribble wrote in a text message to The Sun.

In Greeley-Evans School District 6 in Weld County, spokesperson Theresa Myers said in an emailed statement that if the community sees a significant deportation unfold, the district will assemble its crisis response team and follow through on emergency response protocols.

“A large-scale deportation would necessitate a community response, which District 6 personnel would join,” Myers wrote. “We have close relationships with our community partners who serve our families, and we would work together to help ensure our children are safe and cared for.”

She declined to offer specifics.

Cherry Creek School District officials say they remain focused on ensuring all their students — regardless of their background — receive an education.

“It is too soon to understand the full extent of what a second Trump Administration could mean for K-12 education and our students and their families,” district spokesperson Ashley Verville wrote in an emailed statement. “We are having conversations and planning for a variety of scenarios that could impact our students and our community. We remain fully committed to protecting our students and schools and ensuring all students have equal access to quality public education.”

 “‘Am I going to get deported? Are my parents going to get deported?’”

Phones at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network have been ringing off the hook with kids calling to ask what their future holds.

“There is so much fear,” said Ashley Harrington, managing attorney of the nonprofit’s children’s program. “So many children are calling us to say, ‘Am I going to get deported? Are my parents going to get deported? Can you please help us?’ There’s such widespread fear already even from the rhetoric, even though nothing has happened yet. It’s been really overwhelming to hear how terrified children are.”

The children’s program provides free legal services to kids and families, including full legal representation as well as resources, information and assistance.

Currently, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network has 800 open cases within its children’s team, most of which involve unaccompanied minors.

Harrington said she worries about reverting back to days under Trump’s first term, when migrant parents would drop their child off at school only for the child to be left wondering if their parent would show up at the end of the day to pick them up.

“Imagine going into the school day like that and trying to focus, trying to focus on school and do well in class when you’re so scared and you’re so worried,” she said.

Kids whose parents are detained by immigration authorities while they’re at school end up in all kinds of temporary landing spots, Harrington said. Usually, migrant parents aren’t picked up and immediately detained. A legal process must be followed.

However, some children still wind up homeless or in the already-strained foster care system, she said. Others may go home to another parent, another family member or in some cases a caretaker they barely know, potentially opening them up to abuse, trafficking or other trauma, Harrington said.

Undocumented children can face equally harrowing circumstances. The government does not appoint an attorney to defend them in court so even very young kids are left to their own devices to defend themselves in “highly complex” legal proceedings conducted in English against a lawyer, Harrington said. That process determines “whether they can stay in the United States or will be deported back to whatever harm they fled in the first place,” she said.

Schools can play a critical role in tamping down worries among immigrant families and dispelling myths that are amplifying their fear, Harrington noted. Along with acknowledging parents and kids’ very real fears, schools can also educate families about what can and can’t happen under the law and help parents flesh out a plan for their children in the event they are detained during the school day.

Still, even if families develop a plan, the prospect of children being separated from their parents is certain to trigger harm and change the course of countless lives, Harrington said.

“My fear is our government is sort of intentionally going to inflict that on God knows how many children, many of whom are U.S. citizens,” she said. “And that will impact them their whole life, not only their ability to focus in school but their ability then to even stay in school and their ability to get higher education, their ability to support themselves. This cruel and inhumane policy will have devastating effects for years for these kids that go far beyond the lifespan of one administration.”