School officials across the country are taking steps to prepare for an onslaught of new deportations under Donald Trump, including the potential that the new administration breaks with longstanding policy and conducts raids at schools themselves.
Trump officials have also suggested several specific, dramatic policy changes that will hit young people particularly hard, including ending birthright citizenship, resuming family separation, and encouraging families with mixed immigration status to self-deport.
These students and their families could face a number of new challenges under the Trump administration, which has vowed immediately to carry out the largest mass deportations in U.S. history.
Districts in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Phoenix have all vowed not to voluntarily assist federal immigration officials, and are training staff about what to do in the event of a request from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Although the protected area policy remains in effect ... it may be modified, superseded, or withdrawn at any time with little notice,” a recent California guidance for schools said.
