As the new school year approaches, educators in San Francisco face an urgent and unsettling issue: preparing their students for potential encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on school grounds.
Teachers and staff are particularly concerned after the Trump administration reversed a previous policy that had kept ICE off school campuses.
Daniel Alonso, a fifth-grade teacher at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the Mission district, expressed his worries, saying, “We’re trained for school shootings, for situations where our life could be on the line. What does that look like if there’s a potential immigration raid?”
In light of these fears, many educators have taken proactive steps to prepare their students and themselves. They are distributing ‘Know Your Rights’ red cards in classrooms and discussing evacuation protocols with their colleagues in the event of an ICE presence.
Diana Diaz, who works with the Beacon Initiative to support low-income and immigrant students, has conducted discussions about how staff should respond if a student’s parent is detained.
Her team has even saved a Rapid Response Number on their phones, allowing them to respond swiftly to possible ICE sightings.
Despite the training teachers have received for critical situations like shootings, many feel inadequately prepared for the possibilities surrounding immigration enforcement.
Although district administrators received some legal training about interacting with law enforcement, teachers report they have not been given direct training related to immigration enforcement policies.
This lack of training has become a key issue in ongoing contract negotiations between teachers and the United Educators of San Francisco, which is seeking formal guarantees for such training.
Teachers’ union president Cassondra Curiel voiced frustration, saying, “When push comes to shove, quite literally, what is the district willing to do? Our members are looking for instruction.”
In San Francisco specifically, ICE’s recent activities have involved detentions of individuals outside immigration courts, but the district has yet to encounter large-scale raids that have been reported in Southern and Central California.
Just this week, a boy waiting outside a high school in Los Angeles was detained by immigration officials, heightening fears among educators and families in San Francisco.
The San Francisco school district claims to have established policies to safeguard immigrant students and has designated itself as a sanctuary district within a sanctuary city in a sanctuary state.
The district has created an FAQ document addressing interactions with ICE, indicating they are committed to working with city and community partners to ensure that students, their families, and staff are prepared and aware of their rights.
Superintendent Maria Su has stressed the district’s commitment to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all students, regardless of their immigration status.
In statements made during a recent school board meeting, Su emphasized that families should feel secure in not disclosing their immigration status to the district, which maintains no records of such information.
While the district has several policies designed to deter ICE actions on school grounds, there remain concerns among teachers regarding what will happen if agents choose not to comply.
Teachers fear that the threat of immigration enforcement could discourage parents from sending their children to school, potentially exacerbating attendance issues already observed in the district.
Curiel reflected, “It’s really anxiety-filling to go from a place where you’re making lesson plans and cutting decorations out to creating a go-plan for an evacuation or hiding.”
An alarming study by Stanford University revealed that a previous immigration raid in California caused a staggering 22 percent decline in student attendance.
This sharp drop was particularly pronounced among younger students, who are more likely to have undocumented individuals in their households.
Stanford researcher Tom Dee noted, “It’s a harbinger, a leading indicator of the disruption that’s occurring in families experiencing these raids,” underscoring the long-term consequences of such enforcement actions on student learning.
As school officials recognize the potential impact on attendance due to fears surrounding immigration enforcement, they have yet to draw a direct connection between these fears and the district’s overall attendance issues.
Last year, Diaz took personal initiative to alleviate parental concerns regarding ICE by hosting workshops for families.
In these workshops, she provided information about school security measures and how to report ICE sightings.
Even sightings of unmarked vehicles near campuses have sparked anxiety among parents this summer, illustrating the pervasive fear of ICE operations within the community.
“It can reduce stress and anxiety for them to be informed,” Diaz affirmed, emphasizing the importance of proactive communication in alleviating fears.
As San Francisco students prepare to return to school next week, educators are left to navigate their roles as both teachers and sources of support amid heightened anxiety surrounding immigration enforcement.
image source from：missionlocal
