Published Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025 | 2 a.m.
Updated Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025 | 11:35 a.m.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with comment from the Clark County School District.
Clark County School District principals are looking for guidance on how to respond should federal immigration agents arrive on campus conducting deportation efforts, a possibility now that the President Donald Trump’s administration has repealed a policy restricting immigration arrests at schools and other “sensitive” areas.
CCSD released a statement in December — before Trump was sworn in for his second term — saying that “CCSD schools are safe places for all students and their families, and all children have a constitutional right to a public education,” with a reference to a 2017 school board resolution that said the district was committed to students regardless of immigration status.
But the resolution, passed in the early days of the first Trump administration, cited an Obama-era policy in place at the time that restricted agents’ ability to enter school campuses and other sensitive spots like churches and hospitals.
In a statement, the district said it is not responsible for enforcing federal immigration law and that if any law enforcement officer or government agent arrives at a school that staff should verify their identity and ask why they’re there.
If there is a concern over the person’s identity or the reason for their visit, then staff should contact school police.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued the directive Monday repealing the restrictions that “thwart law enforcement in or near so-called “sensitive” areas.”
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the department said in a statement. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
Two principals told the Sun after Homeland Security’s announcement that they had heard nothing from the district since December’s statement, which contained no specifics or direction.
One principal added that some of their colleagues were concerned, and principals had been asking for district guidance on the matter since November. The Sun agreed not to name the principals.
The Pew Research Center estimates that as of 2022, 8.8% of households in Nevada had at least one undocumented immigrant, and 13.9% of Nevada schoolchildren had at least one parent who is an undocumented immigrant — both the highest percentages in the nation.
School systems elsewhere have taken a strong, detailed stand against immigration agents entering campus.
In Colorado, the superintendent of Denver Public Schools sent a memo to principals ahead of Trump’s second inauguration to offer training on what school staff should do if immigration agents show up on campus, according to reports.
He said they should deny agents entry or keep them in the front office, not allow anyone in or out of the school, contact district lawyers, and only communicate with officers through the intercom and ask for badge numbers and whether they have a warrant. Nearby Aurora Public Schools issued similar directives to its staff.
In California, state law says school officials are not required to allow immigration agents to enter schools without a warrant.
CCSD said last month that it “does not report undocumented immigrants to authorities, nor does CCSD ever ask students or parents about their immigration status. Students and their families should know that their privacy will continue to be protected and that all students will continue to receive a quality education.” It said its 2017 resolution remains in effect.
In that resolution, it said “district property is a safe space for students, staff and the educational community regardless of their immigration status.”
“Student privacy will be protected by restricting the release of confidential student information about students’ immigration status to immigration enforcement agencies, including ICE, unless there is parent consent, a judicial warrant, subpoena or court order.”
The resolution also says that “access to campus will be granted to federal immigration officials for the purpose of immigration enforcement as legally required to do so (e.g., when there is a warrant) or in the event of exigent circumstances” and that school police “will be instructed to assist ICE as legally required for the purposes of immigration enforcement.”
It doesn’t detail what that assistance would entail.
However, in Wednesday’s statement, the district said that “per their General Orders, (school police) officers are not responsible for and do not enforce federal civil immigration laws.”