How Detroit Teachers Are Plotting to Thwart ICE at Every School

DETROIT, MI – Earlier in November, community locals and even school teachers attended a Detroit Public Schools board meeting to urge the district to update the standing “sanctuary district” policy to further obstruct immigration authorities from carrying out their duties on or near school grounds.

On November 11th, the Detroit Public Schools Community District held their board meeting where some of the attendees and teachers present pushed for the board to update the 2019 enacted policy which self-defined the district as being a sanctuary for illegal alien students and families.

The 2019 policy in question essentially required school staff within the district to prohibit immigration authorities “access to a school site or District facility without a request submitted to the building-site administrator and approved by the Office of the Superintendent and General Counsel,” even if said authorities brought along a judicial warrant.

Notably, these 2019 school district policies were emboldened by Obama-era immigration policies enacted back in 2011 which restricted immigration enforcement operations in what were deemed “sensitive locations,” such as schools and hospitals. However, the Trump administration rescinded such guidelines limiting enforcement at or near these “sensitive areas” this past January.

Despite the Detroit Public Schools Community District no longer being able to rely on the loopholes of administrations past, locals and teachers within the community demanded during the recent board meeting to effectively go beyond the prior 2019 policy and enact novel ways to obstruct federal law enforcement.

Western International High School teacher Kristen Schoettle said before the school board, “As we all know, a lot has changed since 2019. We have to do more than simply say ICE isn’t allowed in school buildings.” Another Western International High School teacher, Frank Espinosa, reportedly asked the board to brainstorm ideas for better transportation for illegal alien families taking their children to school.

Heidi West, an English language arts and Spanish teacher at Academy of the Americas, pressed the school board on “who has been officially trained” within the broader school system on how to deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). West further inquired, “Do our secretaries and security guards know what to do if ICE is right outside or trying to get in,” later emphasizing, “This is the very least we should be doing to be proactive and make sure everyone is protected.”

West has also been identified in the past as a anti-ICE activist within Detroit, having participated in school walkouts as far back as this past February in protest against President Trump’s immigration agenda.

School board officials acknowledged the comments made by locals during the meeting and noted they’d have to consult with legal counsel to ascertain what they can do within the confines of the law.