The Trump administration's controversial policy allowing immigration enforcement raids in sensitive locations, including schools, is being challenged once again — this time in a lawsuit filed by civil rights organization Democracy Forward on behalf of religious groups on Monday.
Citing accelerated immigration enforcement efforts nationwide in recent weeks — and at times during preschool and religious school pickups — the groups filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts Central Division. The lawsuit alleges the agency's policy change violates churchgoers' rights to gather for and engage in activities protected by the First Amendment, and that it was put into place without going through the proper legal procedures.
"The word ‘sanctuary’ has always meant a place of refuge and safety," said Bishop Brenda Bos of Southwest California Synod, an Evangelical Lutheran church and a plaintiff in the case, in a Monday statement. "Not only are our spaces no longer guaranteed safety, but our worship services, educational events and social services have all been harmed by the rescission of sensitive space protection."
The lawsuit is at least the third so far attempting to reverse the administration's January policy change that lifted a decades-long practice of protecting schools or other spaces from immigration enforcement.
In February, Denver Public Schools became the first school district to challenge the policy, saying it had stoked fear in students and families and led to a noticeable drop in school attendance across the district — particularly in schools with immigrant families.
The district agreed to dismiss that lawsuit in June.
Another lawsuit filed in late April by an Oregon-based Latinx organization and faith groups from other states also mentioned drops in attendance rates and fear among immigrant communities, leading to "an influx of parents picking their children up from school in the middle of the day after hearing reports that immigration officials were in the area."
The lawsuits come as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted entry in April into two Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools, falsely claiming they were there to conduct "welfare checks" on the students with permission from their parents.
In both cases, the agents were denied entry by building administrators, who refused to share information about the children without a court order or warrant.
Despite letters from lawmakers and multiple inquiries from K-12 Dive asking about the LAUSD incident and DHS' broader enforcement tactics on school grounds, the agency has not commented as to whether other incidents have occurred on public school grounds since the administration's policy change in January. ICE is an agency within DHS.
DHS told K-12 Dive in response to the Denver lawsuit that immigration enforcement activity in schools should be “extremely rare” and would first require “secondary supervisor approval.”
The supervisor approval, however, is a much lower bar to clear than the protections to schools and other sensitive locations provided under previous administrations, according to lawsuits and legal experts.
Earlier this month, the administration also abruptly changed policies for some education programs, restricting them based on immigration status. Under the policy change, Head Start — the federal early childhood education program for low-income students — would, for the first time in its 60-year existence, require citizenship or immigration status verification to enroll children.
The move brought heavy scrutiny and legal challenges from civil rights and public education groups. The administration agreed last week to hold off on enforcing that policy change until at least September.
