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The Chicago Board of Training handed a decision Thursday reaffirming its dedication to guard college students of assorted immigration statuses, gender identities, and sexual orientation following final week’s presidential election.
The decision, accredited unanimously by the varsity board throughout a particular board assembly, acknowledged that the outcomes of the election “could have induced concern, concern, confusion, disappointment, anger, or anxiousness in CPS employees, college students, and their households.”
“We stand very steadfast to those ideas and we’ll defend each scholar right here,” mentioned board member Olga Bautista. She added that it’s “unconscionable” to see anybody “emboldened” to name immigration officers on “our folks at work or at colleges.”
Whereas on the marketing campaign path, President-elect Donald Trump has mentioned that he desires to deport thousands and thousands of undocumented immigrants. Many are college students attending public colleges across the nation.
“It’s the physique that has an obligation right this moment, an pressing one, to mannequin what it seems to be wish to be a beacon to the remainder of the nation,” mentioned Jackson Potter, vp of the Chicago Academics Union, through the assembly.
The board’s decision known as for the district to offer coaching and help for college kids, their households, and employees on immigrants’ rights and assets in a number of languages on authorized help, psychological well being care, and public security. It mentioned the district will advocate on the state and federal ranges for packages that help or shield folks with various immigration statuses, together with the Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), which supplies a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrant kids. The board mentioned it might oppose any laws that creates “a Muslim registry system” or erodes civil rights.
The decision additionally mentioned the district “is not going to present help to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the enforcement of federal civil immigration legislation” and that ICE is not going to be allowed to enter or work together with district amenities or employees except it supplies CPS with a prison warrant.”
Chicago Public Faculties is certainly one of lots of of college districts which have declared themselves sanctuaries or secure havens for immigrant college students since Trump was elected the primary time. However Chicago has been a sanctuary metropolis since 1985, effectively earlier than Trump even entered politics. Then-Mayor Harold Washington signed an govt order declaring protections for immigrants that turned legislation in 2006.
Chicago seems to be one of many first massive faculty districts to make a public show of resistance and help for college kids after the 2024 election.
The district handed a “welcoming district” decision in December 2016, however first dedicated to the thought of sanctuary colleges in 2019 as a part of its contract settlement with the Chicago Academics Union and affirmed its place in 2022. In 2017, Denver Public Faculties took steps to reassure immigrant households their college students could be protected. Philadelphia’s faculty board handed a sanctuary decision in 2021. Newark Public Faculties handed the same decision in 2017.
Since 2022, CPS has enrolled hundreds of migrant college students, a lot of whom are searching for asylum from political and financial upheaval in Central and South American nations.The district mentioned its share of scholars studying English as a brand new language elevated by greater than 12% this faculty 12 months — excess of some other scholar group.
This previous spring, the Heritage Basis, the conservative assume tank behind Undertaking 2025, urged states to require public colleges to cost tuition to migrant kids and youngsters with undocumented dad and mom, denying them a free public schooling.
Trump has expressed a willingness to focus on immigrant kids and their households and goal insurance policies that will shield them.
Samantha Smylie contributed.
Reema Amin is a reporter masking Chicago Public Faculties. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
