Milwaukee School Board unanimously passes 'safe-haven' resolution

Joining school districts around the country, the Milwaukee School Board on Thursday passed a resolution declaring itself a safe haven for students and families threatened by deportation and vowing to oppose the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents "by all legal means available."

The unanimous vote drew a standing ovation from the crowd, many of them students, parents and teachers.

“Schools are sanctuaries … where children come to learn. … where children come for peace (and) for hope,” said school board member Tatiana Joseph, co-sponsor of the resolution. She came to the United States from Costa Rica as an undocumented child herself and lived in fear for years that her parents could be arrested and deported.

“It is my responsibility as a board member who represents over 70,000 children to protect them, whether you’re documented or undocumented,” she said to applause. “So, this is our commitment … that we are in the business of protecting children regardless of who you are or where you come from.”

Superintendent Darienne Driver endorsed the measure and acknowledged the students in the crowd.

“Seeing all of you here tonight makes us so proud. Words can’t really describe it,” she said, clearly emotional. “It’s an honor to serve all of you … and to serve alongside leaders who have the courage to step up and stand up when it really matters.”

The vote followed more than 90 minutes of testimony, often emotional and overwhelmingly supportive, and a rally before the meeting organized by Youth Empowered in the Struggle, an arm of the advocacy group Voces de la Frontera, which provided advice on the resolution.

One by one, speakers stepped to the podium to share their stories: of arduous journeys to a new country, of fears that parents could be deported, of proud parents who saw their children grow and blossom in schools where they felt safe. They urged and pleaded with board members to pass the resolution.

“Please, please protect our children,” said Pedro Martinez. “Don’t allow them to be afraid to come to school. Create an environment where they can … feel protected.”

Alejandra Gonzalez, an MPS graduate and Alverno College freshman, spoke of her fears as an undocumented child. "The only time I ever felt relief from that was in the walls of my school," she said.

With Thursday’s vote, MPS joins numerous school districts around the country that have passed similar measures in the wake of President Donald Trump's stepped-up enforcement of U.S. immigration laws aimed at deporting vast numbers of undocumented immigrants.

"One of the things that happened after the presidential election was that we had students, particularly Latino students — but other immigrants and refugees, too — coming to schools very stressed, some of them in tears," said MPS board Vice President Larry Miller, who co-sponsored the resolution.

"We realized there's a fear among our students and their families. And we wanted to assure them that we will do anything in our means to protect them."

Trump had made immigration enforcement a hallmark of his campaign, vilifying undocumented immigrants as miscreants and criminals. And he made good on that rhetoric in January, signing an executive order that dramatically broadened the offenses for which undocumented persons could be deported and resurrecting a program that authorizes local law enforcement agencies to work with ICE to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants.

ICE maintains that it does not typically arrest individuals at "sensitive locations," such as schools and churches. However, aggressive arrests around the country, including one of a father who had just dropped off his daughter at school — recorded by another child who is heard weeping in the car — have heightened fears that students or their family members could be targeted, or that parents would keep children home from school rather than risk arrest.

One woman spoke in opposition to the measure, raising concerns about costs and a fear that schools might harbor felons, which the resolution does not suggest.

"My understanding is that ICE is going after criminals," she said.

Andrea Ovalle, 14, spoke of her parents' sacrifices and was testifying to "defend them and keep my family together."

"They left their families, their homes, memories and everything they knew, to give my siblings and I a better quality of life," she said.

"I want my parents to see me succeed. I want them to be proud of me. I want them to know that their sacrifices have paid off."

"We don't want students afraid of coming to school," said Cendi Trujillo, organizer for Youth in the Struggle.

"We need our school districts to be very public about this and to say we will not allow ICE on our premises to terrify our students or their families," said Trujillo, 23, an undocumented immigrant protected, at least for now, under the 2012 Obama administration policy known as DACA for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

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The MPS resolution was written with help from parents, students, teachers and others, including Patricia Hoben of the MPS charter school Carmen Schools of Science and Technology, which serves a largely Latino student body.

Among other things, it:

• Bars MPS staff, contractors, volunteers and representatives from using district resources to aid in the arrest of a person "whose only violation of the law" is that they are — or are suspected of being — undocumented. (It does not address undocumented persons with criminal records.) 
• Prohibits sharing a student's or guardian's immigration status, or other protected information, without a valid court order or signed release.
• Establishes a precise protocol for steps to be taken if ICE or its designee attempts to enter a school. Among them: Ask and make copies of agents' IDs and warrants if they have them; and contact the student's parent or guardian, as well as the district's attorney.
• Gives Driver 30 days to create an immigration advisory group; develop resources for students, families and staff; and encourages city and county representatives to establish "a safe-haven perimeter" within which families can feel safe bringing their children to school.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke had no comment, according to his spokeswoman. A vocal supporter of Trump and his immigration policies, Clarke has applied to take part in ICE's 287(g) program, which would give local deputies the authority to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants.

Efforts to reach Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Police Chief Ed Flynn and County Executive Chris Abele — to gauge their interest in the safe-haven perimeters — were not successful. But they are likely to be supportive given their public statements and the county's recent passage of an anti-discrimination resolution.