Recent reports of ICE agents spotted in the Gresham area have raised student and community alarm, prompting GBSD to release a statement on what ICE agents can and cannot do, and how students and staff should respond if masked agents should come knocking on GHS’s doors.
ICE, or “Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” is a US government agency with the power to conduct armed raids on immigrant communities for the purpose of detaining and removing non-citizens from the US. Alongside community resources for immigrant families and students, GBSD stated, “The district has repeated specific guidelines to administrators for these kinds of scenarios. They include:
Notifying the district immediately of ICE presence.
Not allowing access inside our building or access to any students
Not providing any information about students, staff, or families, including about attendance or enrollment.
Redirecting them to the district office.
While the district appears to be doing what it can, many people in the Gresham area are still concerned about immigrant students and families.
In conversation with the Argus, GHS office receptionist Trini Dominguiz stated that “Many students and families have expressed concerns about ICE and have one hundred percent stopped being as involved in school, especially my Spanish-speaking students and families.”
Ms. Dominguiz went on to say that every staff member has received a rundown on the protocol for handling emergencies involving ICE. She expressed her concern that students and families cannot receive the education they deserve.
She’s not the only one pushing back.
Democratic State Representative Ricki Ruiz appeared on KGW8 news on October 17th to inform Gresham citizens about ICE activity in the area and to encourage them to take action and stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. “There are federal laws, and there are federal rights in the Constitution that we are seeing the federal government not respect, but we have to try. We have to do something. I think it’s easy just for us to sit back and say, ‘No matter what we do, nothing’s going to change. Of course, nothing’s going to change because nothing’s being done. We have to be on the offensive.¨
KGW8 news reported further that Rep Ruiz has been working on new legislation that protects families with immigrant status by prohibiting agents from entering school grounds or being present at churches and parks, among other measures.
Locally, the city of Gresham’s current policy states that the Gresham Police Department “prohibits status inquiries” and that no person “should be held solely based on a federal immigration detainer unless the person has been charged with a federal crime or a warrant accompanies the detainer.”
At the same time, Oregon public schools are subject to state law protections and have the legal responsibility to educate all children regardless of their immigration status. Schools have been advised on how to respond if federal immigration officers come onto their campus.
Gresham High School adheres to these laws and provides resources that immigrant families can access on its website. With everything considered, many feel as though these often violent raids aren’t simply about agents detaining people. By now, it’s gone far beyond that–disrupting civilian lives, including children’s education, and even those who aren’t immigrants, and it’s unclear how long until this situation will resolve.
