The Chicago school board says it will protect immigrant students after Trump’s election victory

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The Chicago Board of Education passed a resolution Thursday reaffirming its commitment to protecting students of diverse immigration statuses, gender identities and sexual orientations following last week’s presidential election.

The solutionapproved unanimously by the school board at a special board meeting, acknowledged that the results of the election “may have caused fear, anxiety, confusion, sadness, anger or anxiety among CPS personnel, students and their families.”

“We stand very firmly by these principles and we will defend every student here,” said board member Olga Bautista. She added that it is “unconscionable” to see anyone “encouraged” to call immigration officials about “our people at work or in schools.”

While on the campaign trailPresident-elect Donald Trump has said he wants that deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Many are students who attend public schools across the country.

“It is the body that has an obligation today, an urgent one, to model what it looks like to be a beacon to the rest of the country,” said Jackson Potter, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union , during the meeting.

The board resolution called on the district to provide training and support in multiple languages ​​to students, their families and staff on immigrants’ rights and resources in legal aid, mental health care and public safety. It says the district will advocate at the state and federal level for programs that help or protect people with different immigration statuses, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), which provides undocumented immigrant children with a path to citizenship. The board said it would oppose any legislation that creates “a Muslim registration system” or erodes civil rights.

The resolution also states that the district “will not assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law” and that ICE will not access or interact with district facilities or personnel unless the CPS offers. with a criminal warrant.”

Chicago Public Schools is one of hundreds of school districts that have declared themselves sanctuaries or safe havens for immigrant students since Trump was first elected. But Chicago has been a shrine city since 1985long before Trump even entered politics. Then-Mayor Harold Washington signed an executive order declaring protections for immigrants, which became law in 2006.

Chicago appears to be one of the first major school districts to publicly show opposition and support for students after the 2024 election.

The neighborhood passed by a “welcoming district” resolution in december 2016, but first committed to the idea of ​​shelter schools in 2019 as part of the contract agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union and reaffirmed its position in 2022. In 2017, Denver Public Schools took steps to reassure immigrant families their students would be protected. The Philadelphia School Board passed a sanctuary resolution in 2021. Newark Public Schools passed a similar resolution in 2017.

Since 2022, CPS has enrolled thousands of migrant students, many of whom are seeking asylum due to political and economic unrest in Central and South American countries. The district said the share of students learning English as a new language at this school has increased by more than 12%. years – far more than any other student group.

Last spring, the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, urged states to do so requiring public schools to charge tuition to migrant children and children with undocumented parents, depriving them of free public education.

Trump has showed willingness to target immigrant children and their families and focus on policies that would protect them.

Samantha Smylie contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at [email protected].