(Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
If you’d asked Natalia Mejia three weeks ago about her challenges teaching at CC Griffin Middle School in Cabarrus County, the multilingual teacher would have listed budget shortfalls and their impact on her students. But now, Mejia says, a new fear has eclipsed those concerns.
The Cabarrus County Schools, like many nationwide, are no longer “sensitive locations” protected from immigration raids under a recent federal policy change. And Mejia’s students and their parents are scared.
She recently recounted to NC Newsline an incident in which a student asked her, “Ms. Mejia, if ICE comes to school, can I jump out of the window and run?”
“Our North Carolina constitution promises all students the right to a fair education,” she said. “And here I am hearing that my students don’t want to come to school. So, what do I do?”
Educators in North Carolina schools are struggling with how best to support students whose immigrant families do not have permanent legal status and who are now living in fear and uncertainty amid the policy rollback of the Trump administration.
“Ms. Mejia, if ICE comes to school, can I jump out of the window and run?”
– Question posed to her teacher by a Cabarrus County middle school student
Education leaders say the policy change could have a chilling effect on student attendance, affect student learning and undermine the constitutional responsibility to provide a safe, welcoming environment for all children. “Schools are supposed to be safe spaces,” said Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith, senior director of the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity, which advocates for all children to have access to a quality education. “They’re not supposed to be spaces that instigate fear.”Â
Schools adopt procedures, guidelines, but fears remain
Some districts are taking steps to address the fears, but ultimately, their power to prevent immigration agents from entering schools is limited.
The Wake County Public School System recently issued updated guidance for principals regarding immigration enforcement on school grounds. The new document, presented in a question-and-answer format, provides principals with information on relevant laws and legal precedents. Wake County previously issued guidance in 2019, but this update provides more detail. The district worked with attorneys to develop the updated procedures.
The guidance clarifies that ICE officials may enter schools if they have a federal judicial warrant to detain a specific individual. This warrant grants them “right of entry.” The document also points out that the new federal order does not distinguish between individuals accused of crimes and those who may have overstayed a visa.
If ICE officials attempt to enter a school without a warrant, the guidance advises principals to consult the document and seek advice from their supervisors.
Recently, Durham Public Schools issued a statement reassuring families and staff that the district remains committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students, regardless of immigration status. “Durham Public Schools will continue to provide every student, regardless of background, with a quality education in an inclusive, welcoming, and supportive environment. This is the right of each and every DPS scholar in our schools. We will also maintain and follow school safety protocols, district policies, as well as state and federal laws that protect the rights, safety, and dignity of each scholar.”
But the notice failed to reassure one Durham mother.
“We’re feeling a lot of worry, a lot of anxiety. We’re feeling really scared right now,” she told NC Newsline through a translator. The mother, who asked to be identified only by her last name, Garcia, for fear of being targeted by immigration officers, has an 11-year-old daughter and 14-year-old niece at the local public school.
Garcia who came to the U.S. 15 years ago from Mexico, said her child, who is a U.S. citizen, has begun asking about her immigration status, a conversation Garcia has tried to avoid. Â
She recently asked her mother if she had a plan in case immigration agents came to deport her. “To not worry her, to not make her more fearful, I told her that everything was OK, not to worry about it,” Garcia said. “But I am worried.”
Garcia, who said she has no criminal record, said she is most worried about the children. “My biggest worry is the targeting of our children, our Latino children,” she said. “They’ll see these children speak Spanish, or they have Latino names, and our families will be targeted.”
“School should be a safe place for learning, a second home,” Garcia said. “But now it’s a place of worry and anxiety, not just for me, but for my children.”
Chasing down rumors, working to prevent panic
Advocates for immigrants in North Carolina are working to support families and by verifying and debunking rumors as the community braces for a potential increase in immigration enforcement actions.
Nikki Marin Baena, co-director of Siembra NC, said her organization has been hearing from concerned parents about the lifting of protected status for certain locations like schools, hospitals and churches. “People are just trying to understand what that means. Like, can I still take my kids to school?” Baena said. Schools, businesses and employers are also seeking clarity on their rights regarding interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Baena noted that during previous periods of heightened immigration enforcement, widespread rumors led some families to keep their children home from school or avoid going to work out of fear. While she said it’s too soon to assess the full impact this time, the organization is working to verify any reports of ICE activity.
So far, there have been few verified incidents. Siembra NC received 267 calls to its ICE Watch detention hotline in the days after President Donald Trump took office, up from 39 calls the week before the inauguration. Only 6% of the calls received were to verify suspected ICE activity the caller had witnessed, and of those, Siembra NC’s ICE Watch dispatchers confirmed zero as actual ICE activity. That does not mean ICE did not make detentions in the Triangle, Triad or Charlotte, only that the callers did not witness detentions.
“Usually, it’s not that ICE is just everywhere. Usually, it’s that they are doing focused detentions in a specific area at a specific time,” Baena explained. The group trains volunteer verifiers to confirm ICE presence and then shares confirmed information on social media.
To assist affected families, Siembra NC operates an immigrant solidarity fund to help with legal fees and other expenses when a primary wage earner is detained. The organization also conducts “know your rights” workshops to educate immigrants about their rights when interacting with ICE.
Baena expressed concern that fear and panic could lead to “self-deportation” as some immigrants choose to leave the country voluntarily. The group aims to provide accurate information to reduce unnecessary panic.
As for Mejia, the teacher in Cabarrus County, she’s urging community members to recognize the humanity of undocumented students. “That’s your kids, that’s your community member,” she tells them and then asks, “So what are you going to do about it?”