California leaders propose another measure to keep immigration officers away from schools

Mathew Miranda, The Sacramento Bee on Dec 17, 2024

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California leaders are preparing for the incoming presidential administration by introducing another measure to keep immigration enforcement efforts away from schools.

Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced the legislation on Monday in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s threats of mass deportations. The bill proposes strengthening provisions already enacted under California law and prohibiting police cooperation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement within a one-mile radius of a school.

Thurmond said the measure is crucial to protecting immigrant families and preserving revenue for California schools. School funding in California is dependent on attendance.

“We think anyone would be hard pressed to be against the bill like this,” Thurmond said. “This is about preserving that revenue and keeping our schools from being robbed of needed resources to help California kids.“

Hispanic student attendance and performance dropped in areas with strict immigration enforcement during Trump’s first term, according to a 2018 Stanford study. Federal law mandates that public schools can not deny admission based on immigration status.

In some ways, the legislation is similar to 2017’s Assembly Bill 699, which requires schools to adopt policies to prevent immigration enforcement on school grounds and restrict them from collecting personal information on immigration status.

Thurmond said his bill is “crystal clear” about prohibiting schools from cooperating with ICE unless there is a judicial warrant and sharing information about students, families or school employees with immigration officers. The measure would be applicable to school districts, county offices of education, charter schools and their personnel.

Earlier this month, another California lawmaker introduced a measure to restrict immigration officers from school campuses and child care centers without a valid ID, written statement of purpose, court order and approval from the superintendent. Even with the conditions met, officers could only access areas without children.

But under Gonzalez’s bill, the one-mile radius proposal might give some added protection to parents as well. There’s a precedent of immigration arrests of undocumented parents after they have dropped off their children at school, according to experts.

“We wanted to create a zone of protection for families in the vicinity of school,” Thurmond said.

While ICE generally discourages enforcement at “sensitive locations” including schools, hospitals and places of worship, Trump has signaled that will change. About 146,000 undocumented children between 3 to 17 are enrolled in California schools, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

“All California children deserve safe school environments that prioritize student learning, regardless of immigration status,” said Gonzalez in a statement.

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