Denver Public Schools sues Department of Homeland Security to keep ICE officers off campuses
Denver Public Schools is seeking a temporary restraining order to reverse a new federal policy prohibiting immigration enforcement actions at "sensitive" locations.
The school district filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security in federal court Wednesday evening asking a judge to reverse President Trump's policy, stop DHS and other agencies like Immigrations and Customs Enforcement from enforcing that policy, and make that policy available to the public.
Superintendent Alex Marrero said the fear of immigration raids at schools since the Trump administration rescinded the policy has been devastating.
On the day of an enforcement action last Wednesday at the Cedar Run Apartments in Denver, Marrero said one classroom he visited had fewer than 20% of students in attendance.
"Do we have to really wait until they approach or enter our schools to say, 'OK, it's time to do something?' I think it's time to protect the fact that we are educators, not first responders," Marrero told CBS News Colorado on Wednesday.
When rescinding the sensitive locations guidance, Trump administration officials said no policy should tie the hands of law enforcement, instead entrusting officers to use common sense.
DPS is the first school district in the country to file a court challenge on the issue. A local law firm is filing the motion at no cost to the district.
Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs released this statement to CBS News Colorado: We are protecting our schools, places of worship, and Americans who attend by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting these locations and taking safe haven there because these criminals knew law enforcement couldn't go inside under the previous Administration.
DHS's directive gives our law enforcement the ability to do their jobs.
For context: Our agents use discretion. Officers would need secondary supervisor approval before any action can be taken in locations such as a church or a school. We expect these to be extremely rare.
DPS, in its lawsuit, said the new policy regarding immigration enforcement at schools is "arbitrary and capricious for various reasons," including that it "failed to provide 'good reasons for the new policy,' let alone a 'satisfactory explanation,'" while citing existing case law. DPS also says DHS failed to consider the "wide variety of costs and harms" to students, families, faculty, school resources, and communities.
In the suit, DPS goes on to say that keeping the previous policy in place would not have stopped immigration officials from "enforcement actions to combat public safety threats in exigent circumstances."
DPS currently has over 93,000 students, 6,000 teachers, and 14,000 staff members across 207 schools.
The school district is requesting a hearing on the case within a week.
You can read Denver Public Schools' entire lawsuit here:
