Law Change Notice
Important Notice!
Good afternoon,
Recent changes to federal immigration policy under the Trump Administration may impact students and families in your school community who are undocumented immigrants. At TCSC, we are committed to supporting our member schools in navigating this evolving landscape. To assist your staff and students in preparing for these changes, we have compiled a list of resources that may be helpful. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions.
School Resources
New federal immigration policy from the Trump Administration may impact students and families in your school community who are undocumented immigrants to the United States. TCSC will do our best to help schools navigate this changing landscape and offers the following resources which may be useful as you work to prepare your staff and students for these changes to federal policy. As we identify additional resources that may be valuable we will add them to this list.
To assist our member schools in preparing for recent changes to federal immigration policy, we have compiled a list of resources that may be helpful. As we identify additional resources that may be valuable we will add them to this list.
What has changed in federal policy?
The Trump Administration has rescinded previous policy regarding “sensitive locations,” which included schools, and has issued guidance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) allowing access to locations formerly labeled “sensitive.”
What should our school do most urgently in light of this change?
One of the most important things you can do right now is confirm that you have current emergency contact information for all students on file. If a student is not picked up from school, you need to have a current list of other people who are authorized for pick up. Now is the time to ask parents/guardians to confirm emergency contacts for all students.
How do I prepare my staff to handle law enforcement coming to our school building regarding immigration issues?
Here are three very helpful guides that walk through what’s happening and how to prepare staff and students ahead of any possible interaction with these law enforcement agencies at your school building as well as practical guides to your school and student/family legal rights in the event of an interaction with ICE or CBP:
Fugees Family School Crisis Playbook: Deportation Response
Aspire Public Schools Flowchart: ICE Campus Access protocol
National Immigration Law Center Factsheet on Recission of Protected Areas Policies
Are there resources for legal advice around immigration and deportation?
This listing, while not comprehensive, offers legal resources on this issue by state. Support and information are also available from the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, which also offers a resource line that is available to call at (615) 414-1030.
This page from the National Immigration Law Center outlines the rights of immigrants in the United States and how to handle being approached by law enforcement in various settings (at home, in the street, at work, etc.)
The American Immigration Lawyers Association put together this list of information about the rights of immigrants in the workplace which could be shared with families.
KIPP: SoCal developed this guide for school staff outlining exactly how to handle potential situations involving Immigration Agents or other law enforcement on or near school campuses. It also contains a link to a Family Guide on Immigration they have shared with school families. Clearly anything specific to California would not apply to Tennessee but most of this guidance is related to federal law.
