Students in Danbury are returning to the classroom amid an uptick in federal immigration enforcement in Connecticut, particularly in the last month, raising concerns among school administrators, city officials and immigration rights advocates.
Danbury Public Schools Superintendent Kara Quinn Casimiro, said she started to hear of an increase in the presence of federal immigration officers during summer school, and more recently, a lot more activity around the courthouse and certain neighborhoods.
“Naturally, we're concerned about not just the physical safety of our students and our families, but in particular, the psychological safety of students and what they need to feel to be successful,” Casimiro said.
On Wednesday, Aug. 20, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Boston confirmed their officers arrested 65 people in Connecticut this month in a targeted operation.
Casimiro said she’s worried the crackdown will deter some students from showing up for class.
“We are concerned about that,” Casimiro said. “We'll know in a few weeks how many of our students are here coming to us [on] a regular basis and whether or not we'll have some attendance issues as a result of the summer activity.”
Casimiro said school officials will have a better idea after Labor Day weekend when there is a more steady pattern of attendance.
Schools have been provided guidance on what to do should immigration officials approach their building or faculty, according to Casimiro.
“The protocol is clear,” Casimiro said. “We've reissued that for this school year, and we will continue to send out those reminders and reinforcements on how Danbury folks will proceed should we encounter ICE activity.”
As part of the protocol, school faculty members have been instructed to immediately contact the superintendent when there is ICE activity. Casimiro said she did not want to publicize any more specific details of the protocol for safety and security purposes.
Support and resources for immigrant families
During a rally last Wednesday, the immigrant-led advocacy group Greater Danbury Area Unites for Immigrants called on state and local officials to do more for the undocumented community. The group also put out a petition calling on state leaders to prohibit ICE arrests in courthouses, and prevent local law enforcement from assisting ICE, among other requests.
Among the demands listed, Greater Danbury Area Unites for Immigrants asked elected Danbury officials to “ensure the local school district has the support and resources to do family preparedness workshops with families, so that they can prepare and protect themselves in the case a family member is abducted.”
According to Casimiro, workshops are not part of the support that’s offered to families.
“We haven't run any workshops through the school system, per se, but we do have our Family Resource Center [which has] made available family preparedness guides and guardianship papers,” Casimiro said. “Many of our families do know where to access that and we have folks that are multilingual who work in the center.”
Casimiro said there are currently no plans to host any workshops through the school system, but it’s something to consider.
“It’s a little bit up in the air right now,” Casimiro said. “We're getting school off and underway. That could be something that we explore further with other partners in the city.”
Mayor Roberto Alves of Danbury said Danbury Public Schools already have resources in place, including the family center and a Student Services Team that is prepared to respond to students that may need additional support.
“Danbury Public Schools are already providing training to administrators and staff on best practices for handling any potential interactions with ICE on school premises,” Alves said in a written statement. “We will continue to monitor the schools’ needs and work in collaboration with the administration.”
Greater Danbury Area Unites for Immigrants also called on city officials to create a plan on how to respond to reports of ICE officers and vehicles waiting outside school zones and hospitals.
When asked about a plan, Alves said in his statement, “We are guided by the Trust Act. We do not cooperate or interfere with ICE agents.”
Alves went on to say that he wants the Danbury community to call the police when needed, to send their kids to school and to go to work without fear.
“We will continue to meet with community and faith leaders to provide resources and share information, so that our community understands their rights and knows what support is available,” Alves said.
A statewide perspective
At a panel on student absenteeism Thursday, State Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker highlighted the need to keep communication lines open between schools and families about procedures regarding ICE presence at schools.
“It's really important, and I talk to superintendents, they can share about messaging, about schools being a safe place for students to be and letting families know what protocols are in place,” Russell-Tucker said.
Russell-Tucker shared the fact that the State Department of Education has outlined guidance for K-12 public schools on immigration activity which was later made into state law. That guidance was put out in late January of this year in response to the rising concerns for the immigrant community with the Trump administration’s return.
The guidance encourages school districts to include protocols “consistent with district policies and procedures” with several examples of what protocols could include, such as recording details regarding the visit.
Connecticut school districts are required by state law to submit a School Security and Safety Plan to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) for review each year.
According to DESPP Director of Communications Rick Green, the department changed the School Security and Safety Plan Standards this July to include a new provision that required plans to be updated with protocols “for interacting with federal immigration authorities who appear in-person at a school or otherwise contact a school to request information.”
As part of this new standard, in accordance with the legal guidance from the State Department of Education, school districts are required to designate at least one school administrator as the point person for visits by federal immigration officers. School security and safety plans with this new standard must be submitted for review in November.
Norwalk Public Schools Superintendent Alexandra Estrella said building awareness and trust with the community is a priority within her school system, to ensure all students and families know where to get the resources they need.
Norwalk is among the cities in Connecticut that has seen ICE activity that sparked criticisms from local and state officials.
Estrella said her team is also looking into ways to support students who may miss school for whatever reason.
“We as a team have been monitoring strategically, thinking about what are some alternative measures we might have to take, similar to what we did during the pandemic, to support students learning if they can't physically come to the building,” Estrella said.
Right now, Estrella said they are assessing attendance among its student bodies to determine what measures are needed and how to implement them.
Finding other means to access education is something Tabitha Sookdeo said she’s heard from young people within the immigrant community.
Sookdeo is the executive director of the immigrant youth advocacy group CT Students for a Dream. Sookdeo spoke at a press conference Tuesday with U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal who announced an investigation he was launching into ICE practices.
“Folks are looking for alternatives, like online schooling, because frankly, they do not feel safe walking into a building,” Sookdeo said. “Just by way of the Supreme Court, undocumented students do have the right to attend public schools. In a way, they're being prohibited from being able to do so.”
State Government Reporter Michayla Savitt contributed to the reporting of this story.
