One of President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders allows U.S. and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to arrest people at schools. Kalamazoo Public Schools and Portage Public Schools say they have polices in place that would apply if ICE agents came to their schools.
Kalamazoo Public Schools outlined its policy on immigration officials coming to schools at a community meeting on safety and security Tuesday night.
KPS said immigration authorities must have a signed warrant and permission from the district to interact with staff or students.
Portage Public Schools said it already requires a warrant before any law enforcement officers interact with students.
A spokesperson said a 2015 rule on interrogating students would be applied if ICE came into any district school.
The rule requires the principal to contact the student’s parents unless the police give a “compelling” reason not to. It also requires school officials to verify that officers inform students of their rights.
The rule does not mention anything about district employees who may be targeted in a law enforcement action. At the time of publication, the district had not responded to follow-up questions about protections for staff.
KPS covered more topics than immigration at its meeting Monday. The district said it was reviewing current safety and security measures, and asking for feedback on a proposal to add weapon detectors to high schools for daily use. Weapon detectors are currently only used at sporting and special events.
