Credit: Alyssa Ao

What you need to know:
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, President Donald Trump granted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials the authority to conduct arrests of undocumented immigrants through raids in “sensitive areas” including schools and churches. The policy is affecting towns and cities all around Massachusetts, including the local city of Framingham.

Although this authorization has allowed for raids in schools, ICE officials require a warrant signed by a judge before they can arrest anybody.

“If an ICE agent comes to any school building or office with a warrant or court order, an administrator will immediately contact the superintendent‘s office,” a district communication document released from Framingham Superintendent Robert Tremblay said. “The superintendent’s office will review the warrant or court order provided by the agent and will contact the caregiver(s) and legal council before any action is taken.”

Despite this requisite, families in danger of being deported remain on edge. A video posted by the White House on X that depicted undocumented immigrants being shackled with handcuffs in preparation for a deportation flight sparked further unease for undocumented immigrants. The video was posted on Feb. 18 and was captioned “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight” which further grew the controversy surrounding the authority that Trump had given to ICE workers.

ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. Videos that fall under the category of ASMR typically include the tapping of fingernails on a surface, someone opening and closing bottles, or other activities that cause appealing sounds.

“Students and teachers and anyone in the Framingham community feels threatened by [the new policy] because it is very uncomfortable to know that anyone can be taken away,” Framingham resident and sophomore at Wayland High School (WHS) Aine Chase said.

Schools and students cannot impart students personal identifiable information to ICE. If ICE were to arrive at a student’s school, the school would have to direct ICE to the district’s central office, from there the office would follow a specific protocol.

The district superintendent is required to inform the district’s legal counsel, as well as the student in question’s parents or guardians. The legal counsel will then proceed into looking over any warrants or legal orders. If the document is an administrative arrest or removal warrant, then ICE will not have the ability to enter the school, as it is not a public space.

In only some cases ICE will arrive with a judicial warrant or subpoena. In that instance the school is still required to try and reach the student’s parents or guardians, to give them an opportunity to acquire a protective order, before the schools can continue with the order.

Why it matters:
Known for being a city that is diverse, Framingham is home to many immigrant families. According to the official Framingham website, nearly 85% of the shops in downtown Framingham are owned by immigrant business owners.

“Immigrants often experience unique stresses, prejudice and constant fear of family separation due to anti-immigration policies enforced by the federal government including deportation,” Framingham Welcoming Committee stated.

As a result of the ICE raids, some families are distancing themselves from “sensitive areas” like schools. This is a large issue as some students are skipping school to keep themselves and their families safe from ICE by being at their house. Chase, who’s mom works for the Framingham Public School system, has noticed spotty attendance in school.

“People will stay home because if ICE does go into a public school, the teachers can’t do anything about it,” Chase said.

For some families, the public school systems can be a window to necessary resources like social workers, food, health services and other support systems that they may not have access to on their own.

ICE is now also moving forth into making endorsements with state and law enforcement agencies like police departments, to train officers into making more arrests on immigrants.This would aid what ICE is trying to accomplish.

Other sources to look at:
“K-12 Schools are Obligated to Protect All Students and Their Information” – Office of the Attorney General Civil Rights Division & Children’s Justice Unit
“Guidance regarding K-12 Schools’ obligations to protect students and their information” – Massachusetts government
“How teachers are preparing themselves and their students for immigration sweeps” – CNN
“Trump won’t ban immigration arrests at school. Some families are now weighing school attendance” – AP News
“The prospect of immigration agents entering schools is sending shockwaves among communities” – NPR
“Resources” – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
“White House posts video of immigrants in shackles, calls deportation footage ‘ASMR’” – NBC Philadelphia