Many Texas schools take “wait and see” approach to Trump’s mass deportation plans

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From issuing guidance on how educators should interact with immigration authorities to informing families of their rights, school officials across the country are busy preparing for the large-scale deportation operations President-elect Donald Trump promised to launch on his first day in office Monday.

But in Texas, some school districts located near the border say their plan for now is to stay calm, wait and see.

“I feel like that’s kind of the way it has to be right now,” said Bobbie Treviño, superintendent of the 3,200-student Zapata County school district, east of the Texas-Mexico border. “Because we really don’t know.”

Anti-immigration rhetoric and actions are nothing new for schools along the border — whether from Trump or their state officials — and they’re choosing a cautious approach before taking significant action they believe could do more harm than good by causing panic among their communities and disrupting students’ education. At the same time, school officials expressed a desire to keep their districts prepared to offer information and resources to families seeking help.

Talk of mass deportations has led school districts to suspect that some families in their communities are anxious and worried, even if people aren’t reaching out to them to express as much. Districts and immigration advocates also worry that Trump’s deportation threats could cause students’ mental health to deteriorate or lead some to stop showing up to school — if it hasn’t already happened.

“With immigration and the rhetoric that’s out there, it just is a concern that some of our kids may be nervous because they may be afraid of what might happen to them,” Treviño said.

Trump has said his priorities for his second term in office include ending guaranteed citizenship for children of undocumented parents. His administration intends to slash a policy that has long prevented immigration authorities from making arrests on school campuses. With backing from Republican-led states like Texas, the incoming president plans to call on National Guard soldiers and local police to assist his administration with sweeping raids. Local state representatives plan to help, too.

Around 1.6 million undocumented people live in Texas, only second to California, according to Pew Research. Of the roughly 620,000 undocumented public school students who live in the U.S., about 111,000 call Texas home, data by the immigration advocacy organization FWD.us show.

In other parts of the country, schools are gearing up for Trump’s threat of mass deportations by teaching educators and staff the privacy rights of immigrant students and holding legal information sessions for parents. Others have passed resolutions affirming their commitment to protecting students from immigration officers.

But some Texas school districts say they are waiting to learn exactly how Trump plans to carry out his promises before deciding how to react.

“I think the biggest thing is fear of the unknown,” said Ralph Carter, superintendent of the Hereford school district, which educates roughly 4,000 students in the Texas Panhandle, a majority of whom are Hispanic.

During a recent news conference, Houston school district Superintendent Mike Miles said the district will rely on policies it already has in place to decide how to respond to any deportation operations. He did not clarify exactly what those policies are.

“I don’t want to speculate on what might happen,” Miles said. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

The district, which is the largest in Texas, has a two-page document posted online answering frequently asked questions about immigration, discrimination and the rights of students, noting that school staff would not share a child’s immigration status with federal authorities if approached. A spokesperson for the district said in a statement to The Texas Tribune: “The district will comply with the law as we are required to do. Above all else, the district will educate all students, regardless of immigration status, that come through our doors in a fair, just, equitable manner.”

Treviño said if immigration authorities showed up at her district’s doorstep, she would seek legal counsel and make sure she has a solid understanding of what the law says about granting or denying them access. But she does not foresee a scenario in which immigration authorities would approach her district in an adversarial manner. She also said students’ safety comes first.

“We’re not out there looking for problems, challenging them,” Treviño said, referencing immigration officers. “I just think we have a good enough relationship with Border Patrol. … I think that’s critical for maintaining the peace.”

Texas’ more than 1,200 public school districts, especially those located near the border or educating large numbers of immigrant students, are operating under a different set of circumstances than school systems in other parts of the country.

Top Texas officials are no strangers to anti-immigration actions and rhetoric, from actively working to block undocumented Texans from health care to proclaiming that the federal government should cover the cost of educating undocumented children.

The tense political climate in Texas has some school districts exercising caution in their responses to Trump’s deportation plans to avoid drawing unwanted attention from state or local officials, said Lorena Tule-Romain, co-founder and chief operating officer of ImmSchools, an organization advocating for immigrant students and their families.

“That's the sentiment here in Texas: ‘We're waiting until we can see what the administration in the first 100 days is going to do in response to immigration.’ More of not responding just yet, but just having conversations,” Tule-Romain said. “It's a slower process that is happening here versus what we're seeing in other areas.”

But there’s a flip side. Tule-Romain said school districts that are not actively preparing for the Trump administration’s immigration policies could put their students and families at higher risk of deportation. She said school districts’ plans should cover everything from how to respond to immigration officers arriving on campus to knowing what to do if a child’s parent doesn’t pick them up from school. Even if schools don't know for certain whether they have any undocumented students in their classrooms, they should prepare for possible mass deportations as if they do, said Brenda Gonzalez, a former teacher who works as ImmSchools' associate director of Texas.

Schools cannot ask students about their immigration status, though some school officials may find out if the child or family shares that information.

Other immigration advocates and attorneys agree that school districts play a major role in protecting students and families. Schools are generally not required to lend a helping hand to immigration officers, according to Brad Bernstein, a New York-based immigration lawyer.

Bernstein said school officials should rely on two long-standing federal laws as their guiding principles for denying immigration authorities access to students and their records. The first is the U.S. Supreme Court’s Plyler v. Doe decision, which made clear that Texas and other states cannot deny a child an education based on their citizenship status or take actions that would discourage them from enrolling in school — like conducting immigration enforcement activities on campus. Meanwhile, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, ensures that schools can protect children’s personal information in student records.

Bernstein also said districts should know the difference between a warrant signed by a federal judge and a warrant issued by immigration authorities. Warrants issued by immigration authorities, generally known as administrative warrants, carry significantly less weight and do not grant officers a right to search premises with a reasonable expectation of privacy.

“I think that school districts should proclaim to the entire community what their policies are,” Bernstein said. “There should not be any misunderstanding about what a school district will do and will not do should immigration walk on campus, and whatever their policy is, it should not be a policy that some people follow and others don't.”

And while long-standing federal laws like Plyler v. Doe face an uncertain future as states attempt to pass opposing measures, school districts should generally think, “it's law until it's undone,” said Alejandra Vázquez Baur, co-founder and director of the National Newcomer Network, a project under The Century Foundation working to ensure schools are supporting immigrant students.

Teachers, school administrators and front line staff like resource officers and front desk employees should know and understand their immigrant students’ rights, Vázquez Baur said.

“Remind them that these protections are in place and that immigration enforcement cannot overreach the existing policies that are there to protect immigrant students and their right to an education,” she said.

Pedro Galaviz, superintendent of the Canutillo school district based in El Paso, and Gustavo Reveles, a Democratic State Board of Education member who serves as communications director for the district, said school officials have a long-standing policy of protecting children if authorities try to enter their schools. They also said the district’s school board would not shy away from pursuing legal action to protect students.

Galaviz said the district would contact a lawyer if immigration authorities showed up at one of its campuses. He also said the district has a “healthy relationship” with Border Patrol and would deal with whatever situation shows up following Trump’s inauguration.

“Whether it's the Trump administration, the Biden administration or the Abbott administration, whatever's thrown our way, we've managed to survive and thrive,” Reveles added.

Carter, the Hereford superintendent, said his district will continue assisting and educating all students who show up at its door. He said the district, largely through its Migrant Education Program, offers resources like food and clothing to children in need of assistance.

Carter said if immigration authorities approached him, he would speak with an attorney to make sure that whatever the response is, “we do the right thing.” Once Trump outlines a more specific plan of action, the district leader said he wants to understand how it would affect the school community.

But for now, he’ll wait.

“Let's see what happens next Monday,” Carter said.