ALBUQUERQUE – New Mexico’s largest public school district will be issuing a memo to principals, reminding them that federal immigration agents are not to come onto campus unless they have a warrant.
The memo will be sent to all Albuquerque principals after a draft of the notice was presented to the school board last Wednesday. School administrators have said the memo is meant to serve as a reminder on district policy when it comes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The memo follows recent reports of an uptick in activity by immigration authorities and a federal crackdown on those cities that have adopted immigration sanctuary policies.
The memo states that schools are meant to be safe places for all children, including those who are believed to be in the country illegally.
The memo also cautions staff not to defy immigration authorities should they come onto a campus as administrators have no authority to deny federal orders or warrants signed by a judge. The document instructs principals to call their supervisor and school district police if they encounter a situation where ICE officers were looking to get on school property.
Brandon Baca, manager of the school district’s refugee and newcomer program, said the memo aims to get principals on the same page and to outline resources. He also said he was not aware of attempts by ICE agents trying to come onto campuses in the year and a half he has been in his role.
School board president David Peercy said ICE leadership has been amenable to the district’s policies.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa hasn’t said whether the agency’s activity was increasing in Albuquerque as some advocacy groups have claimed. But she has told reporters in recent weeks that local jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with ICE “are likely to see an increase in ICE enforcement activity, as the agency has no choice but to conduct more at-large arrest operations.”
Zamarripa said the agency focuses on those who pose the greatest threat to public safety and border security. She pointed to national statistics that show about 90% of all people arrested by ICE during the 2019 fiscal year either had a criminal conviction, a pending criminal charge, had illegally re-entered the United States after being previously removed or were subject to a federal judge’s final order of removal.
