Chicago Public Schools officials plan on denying Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entry into district buildings without a a criminal warrant.
A memo was sent to Chicago principals this week that positioned CPS as a roadblock to ICE’s mission to enforce federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.
“To be very clear, CPS does not provide assistance to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law,” a memo issued Tuesday says, CNN reported. “Therefore, ICE should not be permitted access to CPS facilities or personnel except in the rare instance in which we are provided with a criminal warrant.”
Chicago Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson’s instructions added that schools should be “a safe place for all students regardless of their race, ethnicity or country of origin.”
School officials who are confronted by ICE agents are to notify the school system’s legal representatives and have agents “wait outside while the school is reviewing the matter with the Law Department.”
The district’s letter comes one week after President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that dealing with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), former President Obama’s executive order aimed at shielding young illegal immigrants from deportation, was “a very, very, difficult subject.”
“I love these kids, I love kids, I have kids and grandkids and I find it very hard doing what the law says exactly to do and, you know, the law is rough,” Mr. Trump said Feb. 16 in the East Room. “It’s rough, very very rough.”
The president said that his administration would show “great heart” on the issue moving forward.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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