Supporting Immigrant Families
Executive Orders and directives from the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the Biden Administration’s guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that treated certain areas such as schools, universities, churches, and hospitals as “safe spaces” from immigration enforcement. This rescission of the safe space status to schools and community spaces has impacted attendance at schools and after-school programs, as fearful families keep their children home.
What can you do?
Afterschool programs can learn about the rights of youth, their families, and the communities you serve. It may also be helpful to think through what measures you can put in place to reassure families, as well as have a plan in case of an emergency. Many organizations have produced toolkits and resources that may be helpful to program leaders as well as families:
- The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) guide for safe space policies for early childhood programs. Many of the recommendations and actions suggested can be applied more universally to programs that serve school-aged youth. Read this guide to help your program think through the protocols and processes that should be in place for both routine operations and crises.
- Toolkit from the Children Thrive Action Network with a comprehensive set of resources
- Resources from Partnership for Children & Youth on Navigating Threats to DACA and Immigrant Communities: Resources for Expanded Learning Providers to Support Staff
- This guide on school-community partnerships in the event of an ICE raid may also be helpful to read through.
The National Immigration Law Center has produced a “Know your Rights” guide (flyer available in 16 languages) that describes the rights everyone living in the United States has if stopped by an ICE agent. This can be provided to the families in your community.