How ICE access to schools could impact Coachella Valley school districts

For years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been prohibited from arresting suspected undocumented migrants at designated "sensitive locations," like schools, courthouses, places of worship and hospitals.

But under a new wave of immigration reform under the Trump administration, that provision is being rolled back.

The Department of Homeland Security announced earlier this week it would update it's protected area and enforcement policies to allow immigration authorities to use "common sense" tactics to arrest suspects.

Now, desert school districts are racing against the clock to take precautions.

Last month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Department of Education declared schools cannot discriminate based on citizenship status or aid immigration officers in arrests.

The resolution was approved by the Governing Board of Palm Springs Unified School District.

"We're in the business of kids and we're in the business of keeping kids safe. So we're in close communication with legal counsel," PSUSD Superintendent, Dr. Tony Signoret said.

At the Coachella Valley Unified School District, the administration has invited TODEC to host "Know Your Rights" training forums for teachers and staff.

"TODEC has been passing out the 'Know Your Rights' cards. We've ordered over 20,000 in the past two weeks. And they've all been given out," Dr. Frances Esparza, CVUSD Superintendent said.

But how do these protections square up against rapidly changing policy at the federal level?

Dr. Signoret says, "Until this federal executive order and state direction change, we're right now we're maintaining that any immigration officials, unless they have a court issued warrant, should not be permitted on to our campuses. In addition to that, if they were to ask us for any records, we simply do not have them. We do not have anything that would indicate the citizenship of any of our students."

No matter policy – leaders say their main priority is keeping schools a place for learning