Deportations and School Life

The Education Week Blog has an interesting story about immigration arrests at school.  the author, Mary Ann Zehr, tries to answer the question: What is a school to do in such situations? The latest incident involves a mother and two sons in Tucson, Ariz., who were "voluntarily" returned" to Mexico after police found one of the sons to possess marijuana at school. Zehr learned that the Border Patrol has a policy saying that Border Patrol agents, who work for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, must have written approval from a supervisor before conducting any enforcement-related activity at schools or places of worship. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—which falls under a different branch of the U.S. Homeland Security Department than Border Patrol—has a policy that "arresting fugitives at schools, hospitals, or places of worship is strongly discouraged, unless the alien poses an immediate threat to national security or the community."

KJ