Welcome news this morning: Albuquerque Public Schools have affirmed the 2006 policy banning immigration officials from its campuses:
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Hailey Heinz of the ABQ Journal writes:
The ban on immigration officials was laid out in a policy adopted in 2006 but has been inconsistent in the district's written rules.The ACLU of New Mexico wholeheartedly applauds the formalizing of this policy. No child, regardless of immigration status, should be afraid of attending school. Publicly and affirmatively stating that our schools are safe places for learning and growth will make children from undocumented families less likely to drop out of school—a significant risk factor for delinquency and an enormous impediment to future economic stability.
The policy was adopted during APS's negotiations with lawyers for three Del Norte High School students from Chihuahua, Mexico, who were detained by the U.S. Border Patrol outside the school in March 2004.
That incident prompted a policy that banned school employees from investigating students' immigration status or offering any information about a student to immigration officials. The same rule also said school employees must initially deny immigration agents access to students on campus.
The 2006 policy directs school employees to ask administrators whether any request for information about or access to students by immigration officials is lawful before providing it.
The policy, which deals with keeping students safe on campus, currently requires "close monitoring" of all campus visitors, including law enforcement, social services and immigration officials. The proposed revision would strike that language and add a sentence that explicitly says, "Immigration officials shall not be permitted on school campus at any time."
Board member Lorenzo Garcia, who often speaks about the rights of immigrant students, said strengthening the language is a positive move. "The important thing is to keep children safe," he said, adding that schools should establish an environment where students and parents feel secure.
Read the rest of the story here.
Education is a public good. The more educated our population is, the more prosperous, safe and culturally vibrant our communities become. It is heartening that, even in this time of high anti-immigrant sentiment, Albuquerque remains committed to providing educational opportunities for all burqueños, regardless of immigration status.
Other communities in New Mexico would do well to follow Albuquerque’s lead in making their public schools safe zones for all young people to learn. The ACLU of New Mexico has received troubling reports from communities in the southern part of the state. Elena Araiza, Director of Programs with the Women’s Intercultural Center in Anthony, NM, reported that sometimes U.S. Border Patrol vehicles will park outside of public schools. Not surprisingly, this has a negative effect on attendance among children in the immigrant community. The ACLU of New Mexico has also received reports that the U.S. Border Patrol frequently stakes out schools and bus stops in Mesquite, NM, ten miles to the North.
Emily Carey, Program Coordinator for the ACLU-NM Regional Center for Border Rights, says a particular incident stands out in her mind from a recent visit to Chaparral, NM. After learning about the ACLU’s work, an eleven-year-old student approached her at a community meeting and said that many of her peers stay home from school when the local sheriff’s department visits the school for safety presentations.
Some children in New Mexico are afraid to go to school. Why? Because of the presence of the very people who they are supposed to trust to protect them. Our state constitution proclaims that a “uniform system of free public schools sufficient for the education of and open to all children of school age in the state shall be established and maintained.” How can we be faithful to New Mexico's founding document if we create an educational environment in which only some children are comfortable?
We face enough challenges in our education system in this state; why create more? APS should be commended for exercising common sense by banning immigration enforcement from where it doesn’t belong. Hopefully, other communities around New Mexico will follow their example.
By Micah McCoy
Communications Specialist
