Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools principals are required to take an immigration webinar before classes start in August that clarifies what to do if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrive at a school campus.
The webinar tells CMS principals that ICE agents are allowed to enter a school to speak with or arrest a student, parent or staff member. This follows guidelines from the Trump administration that now allow ICE to enter sensitive locations such as schools and churches.
The immigration webinar instructs principals that agents are allowed to remain in public areas such as school lobbies, waiting areas and parking lots. Immigration officials are not allowed to enter private areas such as hallways and classrooms unless they have a valid warrant or permission from school administration.
The webinar also trained principals on which warrants are valid. If a warrant is signed by a judge, ICE is allowed to enter into private areas of the school. If a warrant is signed by an ICE official, agents aren’t allowed in.
WFAE reached out to CMS for comment. In a statement, the school board’s communications team said the policy is not a new rule, and “ICE agents (or any member of the public) are allowed in public areas, such as parking lots, school lobbies, and waiting areas."
After this story was published, CMS said the webinar was not mandatory for principals.
