Riverside Brookfield High School officials are taking preparatory steps to deal with any possible effort by federal officials to enforce new policies of President Donald Trump designed to find undocumented immigrants.
In an email he sent last week to families in the school district, Superintendent Kevin Skinkis said that in line with previously agreed upon state policies Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents “will not have access to District 208 facilities unless they provide a court order or warrant signed by a federal judge.”
Also, the school will not share student records unless they’re required to do so by a signed court order or with consent from a parent or guardian.
The email came after the Illinois State Board of Education issued a “non-regulatory” guidance on immigration enforcement in the days following Trump’s inauguration. This, as Trump’s new head of the Department of Homeland Security overturned a policy that had limited immigration enforcement at schools, child care centers, playgrounds and bus stops. The guidance encouraged local districts to plan for such a scenario.
Skinkis says District 208 is following the state board’s advice, which includes designating a point person for immigration inquiries – in this case Principal Héctor Freytas – and making a clear plan, with help from legal counsel.
“We’ve also met with the local police chiefs just to see if they have any concerns or any intel of any upcoming interactions or things that we need to have on our radar,” he said. “From all initial responses, we do think that it’ll be a very rare case for someone to show up at the high school.”
So far, ICE agents have not attempted to enter RBHS or any other Chicago-area schools. If they do, Skinkis says there’s only so much that administrators and teachers can do.
“As a school, your only leg to stand on is that you need to require the signed warrant or court order or subpoena,” he said.
Still, he wants to reassure families that the school would check for that documentation and that it remains a “safe and welcoming environment for all students and staff members regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, origin or immigration status.”