The Ogden and Salt Lake City school districts are committed to ensuring that families feel at ease when sending their children to school this fall, regardless of immigration status.
Ogden Superintendent Luke Rasmussen emphasizes, “We don’t want people to be afraid. We don’t want people to be fearful to come to school.”
Both school districts reaffirmed their 2017 safe school resolution during the winter, highlighting that every student has the right to an education irrespective of their citizenship status.
Rasmussen noted that during his nine years in Ogden schools, he has never witnessed immigration enforcement officers on campus.
“That’s just something we have not ran into, and don’t foresee running into, like an ICE agent coming in, or immigration official coming into the school to look for somebody,” he stated.
Conversations with local law enforcement have assured him that schools are a safe haven for students.
If immigration officers were to arrive at an Ogden school, staff members would refrain from answering any questions regarding a student’s legal status, largely because they do not keep track of such information.
In the event that officials are searching for a specific student, staff would inform the child’s parent or guardian.
In Salt Lake City schools, an agent would need to check in with the front office as any other visitor would.
District spokesperson Yándary Chatwin indicated that the district’s legal counsel would most likely be contacted.
“Our goal is to keep students safe while following the law,” she asserted.
Chatwin stressed the importance of ensuring that whatever documentation officers may possess is appropriate and necessary.
According to Utah immigration attorney Adam Crayk, public schools can mandate visitors, including federal agents, to check in.
“You’d want to see if there’s an actual warrant — a judicial warrant, not an executive warrant, not an Article I warrant, but a judicial warrant — to enter in beyond the lobby,” he pointed out.
Although the Trump administration changed the status of schools and churches as “sensitive” locations in January, allowing ICE to perform arrests at these sites, Crayk is skeptical that agents will frequent Utah schools.
“In past conversations with ICE agents, and I have specifically spoken with them, they’ve been pretty clear that they don’t have a desire to enter into the schools,” he noted.
“They just don’t want to because it does leave a bad taste in everybody’s mouth.”
An exception to this might be for young individuals suspected of involvement in gang activity, in which case agents might apprehend a student on their way to or from school.
The Ogden School District’s resolution requests that ICE agents provide seven days’ notice before entering its property.
However, Crayk anticipates that agents might offer only a few hours of advance notice instead of the full week.
“Do I think that it would be in seven days? Not a chance,” he remarked.
While Crayk believes that ICE will generally avoid schools for now, he warns that Border Patrol agents are also present in Utah, enforcing immigration law in the region.
“Could they enter into a school? Yep. Now, have they up to this point? I haven’t heard it. I haven’t seen it. But I don’t, again, I don’t have contact with them,” he summarized.
Crayk pointed out that Utah lacks legal protections limiting ICE activities in schools.
“We don’t have anything that protects anybody from ICE,” he remarked, noting that more Utah law enforcement agencies are entering into 287(g) agreements with ICE.
As the school year progresses, Ogden and Salt Lake City schools are closely monitoring attendance and addressing student needs.
Chatwin expressed, “There is some concern that fears around immigration might keep students from coming to school.”
“We’re keeping an eye and our ears close to the ground to make sure that we’re listening to what families are worried about, that we’re helpful wherever we can be,” she concluded.
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