The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education’s last meeting before the start of the traditional school year was marked by concern about immigration enforcement at schools.
Several community members voiced frustration that CMS isn’t doing more to prepare for the possibility that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents could enter school grounds.
“Kids are scared of going into school again, parents are scared of taking their kids to school, and that fear is not paranoia, but based on the reality that families are being harassed all across the country," said Mayra Trinidad
One person was escorted out of the meeting chamber for unfurling a banner and chanting "Ban ICE from schools, refuse unjust orders."
Commenters responded to news that surfaced last month that a CMS webinar advised principals that school lobbies and parking lots were considered “public,” and that ICE could enter those spaces in the same way the general public can. That webinar came after the Trump administration lifted guidelines listing schools as protected places.
To date, ICE has not conducted any operations on school grounds. But last school year, a parent was detained near the Charlotte East Language Academy.
Emily Wheeler, a parent from Charlotte East Language Academy, also spoke to the board. She said the district's guidance on ICE "does not address actual practical concerns and needs of the children and educators who will be impacted."
"We as parents need to know that you are prepared for the potential of what's ahead: targeted schoolwide trauma," Wheeler said.
But CMS Board members insisted that district policies prevent ICE from remaining on school campuses without a valid warrant or subpoena, and that schools are safe and welcoming to all students, regardless of immigration status.
"ICE cannot just come and set up on our campuses," said Board member Dee Rankin. "What happens is if they do not have a warrant or a subpoena, they must leave our campuses. So just to be clear, all the proper protocols have been put in place and our district has made sure that those have been cascading down from the top all the way down to the school level."
Board member Liz Monterrey Duvall echoed his comments, and said any responsibility for excessive immigration enforcement at schools lay more with the federal government and the state.
"That is where our anger and our frustration should go to," she said.
