Denver Students, Parents Debate Proposed ICE Restrictions at Schools

During the first hearing that included public speaking on the matter, parents and students supported a proposed Denver Public Schools policy to leave Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the door of district property or events without a warrant from a judge.

“How can education be a priority if safety is a daily concern?” Sylvia Ramos, a DPS parent and alum who works with Servicios de La Raza, an nonprofit supporting Latino immigrants, asked during the meeting on Thursday, March 5. “Stand up for your immigrant families and your staff. When I send my kids to school, I want to know that DPS has my back and knows how to protect them.”

Since February 5, the DPS Board of Education has been considering a policy that would designate DPS schools, district-sponsored events and property, including buses and bus stops, as “safe zones.”

A few DPS students spoke in strong support of the measure and as members of Movimiento Poder, an advocacy group for students that helped write the proposed policy.

“Immigrant students and students who are related to immigrants are scared and not coming to school,” Lidia Lopez, a North High School student and Movimiento Poder member, told the board during on Thursday. “Do something about it like you said you would, but also because it’s your job.”

Parents mostly supported the measure at the March 5 meeting, but it wasn’t unanimous. One speaker named Ken Murphy argued that DPS wants “to obstruct law enforcement and protect those who have broken the law” if it passes the proposal.

“You’re creating fear for parents and children by allowing illegals to come onto our campus that we have no ideas of our history,” Murphy said. “You’re teaching our children to not obey laws, fight back and hide when they break the law.”

Among the rules DPS is considering for safe zones are requiring ICE agents present a judicial warrant and wait at an entrance while district legal counsel checks the warrant. Students can’t be “questioned, detained or removed” by ICE agents “without a valid judicial warrant,” the policy reads.

Because all DPS schools would be safe zones, school staff would have to refuse handing over students or staff’s personal information or disclosing their immigration status. The proposed policy would also direct staff to ignore ICE detainers, which are requests to hold someone for up to 48 hours to allow agents to come make an arrest.

The rules would apply to all other federal immigration enforcement officers, as well.

If the measure passes, school resource officers would be banned from arresting or citing anyone if it “would put a DPS student at risk of deportation” or from sharing a student or family’s information with any law enforcement — not just federal immigration officers, but local agencies as well.

The last time the policy came up at the February 19 meeting, DPS Board President Xóchitl Gaytán said the board would spend March trying to “massage the language” in the proposed policy.

A couple of parents suggested providing mental health resources for immigrant students as a part of the policy.

“We are seeing an increase in stress related to immigration enforcement,” said Jose Polacios, a member of the Denver Latino Education Coalition, an advocacy group chapter, and a DPS alum whose son will enroll in the district in the fall. “Some have already seen family members deported. Some have considered self-deporting with their families, as well. …We are seeing an increase in unhealthy coping skills, such as vaping.”

Maribel Coronel, a parent of a DPS student, said that “the immigration policies, the attacks and the raids have psychologically impacted our students too much” during public comment on Thursday.

“It’s been a tremendous factor on a psychological, social and educational level, and we’re worried,” Coronel said. “What contingency plan is DPS applying with social workers and psychologists internally within the school? Because DPS students have been in a state of anxiety, concern and absence at school.”

The proposed policy comes after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston signed an executive order on February 26 expanding local protections against ICE, including banning them from operating on city property and creating “protected spaces.” On Monday, the Denver City Council passed a law banning ICE agents, along with any law enforcement, from wearing masks during most operations in Denver city limits.

Both the mayor’s executive order and the council-approved mask ban direct Denver Police Department officers to cite or arrest violating ICE agents, although DPD Chief Ron Thomas has said he just expects his officers to keep the peace.

According to DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero, DPS has policies in place to handle law enforcement that comes to the school, but the proposed policy would codify additional steps “in a very public way” to make the district’s stance clear.

A few parents who spoke at Thursday’s meeting said that kind of declaration is exactly what they want. Darlene LeDoux, a member of the Denver Latino Education Coalition who had a long career as an educator in DPS, said that Latino educators need the DPS board to “make a public declaration to prioritize safety” and “codify this unwavering support.”

If President Donald Trump decides to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the proposed DPS policy would require the district “to provide appropriate resources and support to staff and teachers with DACA status” such as employment, immigration and legal support.

The City of Denver has prohibited its employees, including DPD, from working with ICE since 2019 through so-called “sanctuary” laws.

The current draft of DPS’s proposal directs the superintendent to comply with Senate Bill 25-276, a Colorado law passed last year to expand immigrant protections. It requires ICE officials to present a judicial warrant to enter schools and bars local law enforcement from complying with ICE detainers after bond is posted; the law also restricts access to data at libraries, clinics and schools, according to the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.

“Thank you to DPS for what they have done so far for working to keep this community standing,” student Angel Pacheco said. “But we need the extra protection so we can learn without fear.”

The DPS board still needs to hold a first reading for the measure, which is scheduled for March 19. The earliest the board can hold a final vote is April.