Juan Pazmino is the coordinator for the Stamford Public School’s Office of Family & Community Engagement, offering support and resources for families, including immigrant parents.
Pazmino is starting the new school year, trying to walk a fine line between having blunt conversations with parents over the potential for further federal deportation efforts in Fairfield County, as students begin a new school year.
"They're very sensitive to these issues, so they’re taking these cases very seriously, and they know that mental health is also a big issue, and that's why they have social workers that are ready,” Pazmino said.
Pazmino, along with others in similar positions across the state, have added to their protocols in dealing with Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) actions in their communities.
Some of those protocols include designating staff to interact with ICE agents in case they attempt to enter district schools, and offering additional mental health resources for affected students.
So far, districts say they have been able to maintain trust among families, ensuring attendance among students, although they acknowledge some are signaling a willingness to leave the United States.
Stamford isn’t the only district that is implementing additional mental health procedures.
Alexandra Estrella, the superintendent for Norwalk Public Schools also has more resources in place. Estrella said the district is partnering with a local mutual aid group addressing food insecurity.
But Estrella says it’s a balance between acknowledging harsh realities and inadvertently causing further harm to a generation already facing record levels of anxiety as a result of the pandemic.
“We try not to provide overarching messages that could scare students that might not be thinking about some of the challenges that adults are managing for them or dealing with,” Estrella said.
Instead, Estrella said Norwalk’s schools have made it more comfortable for students to speak up in private spaces if needed. But if a family member of a student is picked up by ICE, the district is ready to intervene.
The district has a dedicated emergency response team composed of mental health providers to render assistance, including counseling for impacted families.
Kendell Coker, an associate professor of psychology at Connecticut College, says just knowing faculty and staff are willing to listen, can do wonders. While Coker cautioned younger children need different approaches, teens he said, need to be told what could happen, while at the same time, providing a safe space for children to air their concerns.
“I am a big advocate for anybody just saying, ‘I am here,” Coker said. “In case you want to speak, researchers, teachers, you name it, I am here. It communicates and conveys that I care.”
Many districts have implemented policies allowing any student to seek out a staff member for whatever troubles them. Coker said the Trump administration’s actions against immigrants have historical precedents, including the interning of Japanese Americans during World War II, laws targeting Chinese Americans and others.
There are concerns over the federal government gaining access to the personal information of citizens and non-citizens for deportation efforts and by expanding mental health services to all it creates less of a risk a district could single out a student by accident, according to Coker.
But by just saying they are there for them, schools give all students an opportunity to drop their guard down, citing personal experience treating students with trauma who said they needed to be stoic for their parents.
“Sometimes literally, the session is allowing them to just have that space, whether that's just to cry, because sometimes they don't,” Coker said.
Estrella and Pazmino say their districts already enjoy high levels of trust within the community, especially among mixed immigration status families.
But while they have fostered supportive environments for students, their districts have fielded parental concerns and have had frank discussions over what could happen if a parent is detained.
Both have implemented what are known as a family preparedness plan, a series of documents providing detailed instructions for a child’s well being including a designated guardian in case a parent or loved one is detained.
Pazmino said asking parents to prepare themselves is one thing; going over those plans, in the event their lives are upended, can be difficult for everyone involved.
“Until you get to sit down with some families and tell them about those things, and they’re sharing you that they are in the process of doing that, it becomes real, it… really provokes some reaction in you,” Pazmino said.
James Bhandary-Alexander is the legal director of the Medical Legal Partnership at Yale Law School which updated the family preparedness plan last year.
Bhandary-Alexander said the plan is still workable even with the federal government deporting migrants despite a series of legal decisions declaring some of those actions illegal.
The document allows for a parent to name a temporary guardian who, with the paren'ts approval, may apply for a more permanent guardianship in case a parent finds themselves in legal limbo.
Bhandary-Alexander said he does not know how many public school districts have implemented those plans but said many organizations have approached the legal partnership regarding the plan, from houses of worship, to school districts across the state.
Sitting down with families, Bhandary-Alexander said, can be emotionally fraught. But he found out many actually gained peace of mind, giving them agency in the face of an uncertain future.
“The many, many families that we've served have enthusiastically embraced the process of completing these forms and expressed nothing but relief that there is a way to take care of these essential issues, taking care of the kids, taking care of property, before anything bad might happen,” Bhandary-Alexander said.
