DENVER — President Donald Trump's return to office and his repeated promise to carry out the largest mass deportation effort the country has ever seen has caused fear and uncertainty among some immigrant parents and students in Denver-area schools.
School districts in the Denver metro area are reminding staff about the steps and procedures surrounding this, in case they were to be contacted by federal agencies.
Denver7 spoke with a principal of a school in the Denver metro area, who did not want us to share her name or her school's name, out of privacy for her students and uneasiness in their communities. She said their fears over deportations have grown tremendously this week.
"They’re pretty scared," she said. "Lots of questions about are they safe here in school? Are they safe riding a school bus? Can they be walking down the street and get picked up? Lots and lots of fear."
Both Aurora Public Schools and Denver Public Schools have communicated with staff and students' families, making it clear that they are committed to ensuring all students feel safe, regardless of their immigration status.
"As much as possible, we’re trying to have school as normal, right? Operate as normal," the principal told Denver7. "We know that normalcy is very soothing for the mind and soul and trying to do everything as much as normal and tell our kids we’re here to support them and do whatever we can to help them."
Aurora Public Schools shared two letters with Scripps News Denver — one that was sent to school leaders and another that was sent to APS employees.
The first acknowledged the uncertainty around the possible policy changes.
"We are collaborating with community organizations to develop a professional development session focused on supporting immigrant communities, with a specific emphasis on assisting students and families who may have limited or no documentation," the letter reads. "We will share more details about this important initiative in the coming weeks."
The second letter focused on how APS employees should respond if ICE requests access to school district property, students or student records.
That three-page letter is below, and outlines procedures and emergency exceptions.
That memo to APS employees, in part, reads that school leaders "do not have any indication that there has been or will be immigration actions in our schools or on our district property. Under federal policy that remains in effect, schools are 'sensitive locations' where immigration enforcement should not happen."
It continues, reading that the district does not want to cause alarm to students or families, but wants them to know they are prepared for "any possibility."
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A similar communication went out to Denver Public Schools families from Superintendent Alex Marrero.
He wrote, in part, "If a government official arrives at your school requesting information or entry and they are not an individual who has an appointment or business with anyone at the school, do not allow entry."
His letter to the Denver Public Schools community below.
Marrero outlined what the next steps could look like, which included placing the school on safe perimeter, communicating with the officials over the intercom and contacting legal counsel.
The anonymous principal Scripps News Denver spoke with on Tuesday said it's difficult to see how these concerns are impacting students but added that she and school staff remain focused on what matters most.
"Our primary job is to educate kids and that’s what we’re here for and trying to stay out of the political realm of things and educate our kids as best we can," she said. "We know that when kids aren’t feeling in a good emotional space, it makes it harder to teach them and our job is to love on our kids. We don’t want them feeling like they’re living in fear."
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