Community activists, children’s rights advocates and other supporters gathered at the Alachua County School District Office on Tuesday evening to protest the district’s guidance on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) being allowed in schools. 

The rally was organized by Gainesville Immigrant Neighbor Inclusion Initiative (GINI), with community members specifically calling for Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) to revise its ICE guidance. 

Protesters lined University Avenue, holding signs that read “We Demand Justice for Immigrant Families”, “ICE Out of Alachua Schools” and “Protect Children Against ICE.” 

In between waving to passing cars, attendees also took part in several chants and heard from various speakers. 

On Feb. 10, ACPS issued a memo to school administrators that offered direction on how to interact with law enforcement officers on campus, including ICE. 

The memo came on the heels of two directives provided by acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman, which changed polices related to ICE and Customs and Border Protection. 

One of the directives ended a policy that had previously protected sensitive locations, like schools, hospitals and churches, from ICE operations. 

The memo says that ICE agents – under federal law – have “broad authority to enforce federal immigration law” and can interview or remove students with or without a warrant.  

If a law enforcement officer is attempting to interview or remove a student, the memo recommends that school administrators do the following: 

• Request identification from the law enforcement officer. 

• Request to make copies of any warrants, subpoenas or judicial orders. 

• Request permission to contact the student’s parent before or after an interview/removal. 

• Request that the administrator retrieve the student. 

• Request to be present during the student interview. 

• Request that the law enforcement officer complete the district’s Release of Student to Outside Agency form if a student is removed from campus. 

“What we cannot do is ask our employees to interfere with, or try to prevent, a law enforcement officer from carrying out their duties,” Jackie Johnson, a spokesperson for ACPS, told Mainstreet in an interview following a School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) workshop Tuesday afternoon. “This is consistent with other advice that has been given by organizations, including the National Education Association.” 

If administrators fail to comply with law enforcement, the memo says they could face legal consequences that include arrest. 

Members of the public were urged to speak out against the district’s policy as it relates to ICE at school board meetings this past spring, with commentators expressing their concerns and demanding a clearer policy for parents and teachers. 

These thoughts were reiterated at the rally. 

“The minimum, the bare minimum, that the district must do right now is to create guidance that requires an agent to identify themselves when they enter a school, require a signed judicial warrant and require that the district’s legal counsel verify that warrant’s authenticity,” Ethan Maia de Needell, with GINI, said while addressing attendees. “Anything less than that is unnecessarily making our students vulnerable, the school environment unsafe and this district itself liable if they give a child to an imposter or an ICE agent without any justification to do so.” 

Johnson said the district understands the concerns of the community. 

“Back in February, when there was so much uncertainty, that’s why we created these protocols,” she said, “with the understanding that the only people at a school who should be interacting with a law enforcement officer in this kind of situation, particularly with ICE, is the school administrator. Not other members of the staff. And these protocols were developed for them; however, we did share these protocols with all of our staff so that they would all know what the expectations are.” 

When asked if there was anything the district could do in terms of revising its guidance for law enforcement interactions, Johnson said: “Ultimately, we can request IDs, we can request legal documents, including warrants, whatever is in place. But ultimately, what it comes down to is that we certainly cannot ask our employees to inhibit, prevent, or impede a law enforcement officer from carrying out their duties. That’s not going to be good for anybody.”  

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.