Students and community members challenge the Grand Rapids Public Schools to become a Sanctuary School District ahead of the threats of mass deportation

Last night at the Grand Rapids Public Schools Board of Education meeting, it was anything but boring.

First, there were 4 new School Board members who were sworn in. Then, in their very first vote, around the issue of new School Board positions, two of the more progressive members – Eleanor Moreno and Amber Kilpatrick, along with returning member Jose Rodriguez, voted no on the proposed board positions. While the other School Board members voted in favor of the new positions, it was refreshing to see that there is a growing group of board members that are not just going to rubber stamp business as usual dynamics in the district.

Secondly, during the public comment portion of the Grand Rapids School Board meeting, the majority of comments centered around a call for the Grand Rapids Public Schools to adopt a Sanctuary policy for the district. This is happening all across the country, as communities are attempting to take action with the incoming Trump Administration and their proposal to engage in mass deportations. 

Several GRPS students who identified as being part of SALT (Student Association for Leadership and Transformation), which is a student union. All of the SALT students talked about the importance and the urgency of GRPS needed to adopt a Sanctuary policy, to keep students, staff, parents and community members safe from potential arrests, detention and deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. More than one of the student who spoke up identified as part of the Latino/a community and talked about how their community lives in constant fear of being targeted by ICE and how it impacts all aspects of their lives, including being a GRPS student.

Several community members spoke as well, many of them calling for the GRPS to adopt a Sanctuary policy for the district. One speaker, who spoke through an interpreter, said that the document that the district shared recently regarding GRPS protocol when dealing with ICE (which you can read here) was completely inadequate, since it would allow ICE to enter the building and be on GRPS premises in general.

Grand Rapids Superintendent Dr. Roby, addressed the document that the district had sent out after public comment and pretty much avoided talking about what the students and the community were calling for, which was for the GRPS to adopt a Sanctuary policy. While Dr. Roby was speaking, there were slides being shown on the big screen, with information that is not on the document they sent out. One thing that stood out to me that was on the screen said that the district was, “legally obligated to cooperate with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.” Dr. Roby kept talking about the fact that the GRPS would not share information with ICE, which is a good thing, but failed to address more pressing matters around ICE having access to the schools. A few School Board members pressed on this issue, but Dr. Roby kept saying ICE officials would be asked to leave, unless they could produce government documents, like a warrant. When Dr. Roby made the statement about government officials having documents, I took that as they would be given access to the building, to students and staff, because they had some form of an arrest warrant. 

This is exactly why people were calling for the Grand Rapids Public Schools to adopt a Sanctuary policy, which would not only prevent ICE and other law enforcement officials from being allowed on GRPS property, it would keep students, staff, parents and community members safe.

At the same time that students and community members were calling for the GRPS to adopt a Sanctuary policy for the district, GR Rapid Response to ICE has been circulating an online Action Alert calling for the GRPS to adopt a Sanctuary policy, which people can sign here. 

The language of the Action Alert is important, which I will include here below, as it provides important narrative about why it is important for the GRPS to adopt a Sanctuary policy. GRIID encourages people to sign the statement, to share it and push the Grand Rapids Public Schools to adopt a Sanctuary policy for the district.

Why:

• Both the past and the incoming administrations have targeted our immigrant neighbors using different strategies and tactics, but immigrant justice workers expect increased levels of ICE violence starting with the new administration.
• Children cannot learn and thrive unless they have a safe and welcoming school environment. If children are afraid that they, their family members, or their classmates will be deported, they will not be able to focus in school, or they will skip school.
• This has a ripple effect. If one child feels unsafe or threatened, others will feel unsafe and threatened too. This is especially true for younger children. Most younger children do not know their immigration status, and if their classmates are scared, they will be scared too. You can’t target one child without targeting all children in the classroom. Thus, you can’t protect one child without committing to protect all children.
  
• For teachers to fulfill their mission of educating all kids, the classroom must be a nurturing and safe space. Teachers cannot fulfill their mission if their students are afraid or if the environment is hostile. A safe zone resolution helps ensure that teachers can focus on their mission of educating instead of managing fear and its ripple effects among their students.
• We all are connected, and we live and study together in the same communities and classrooms. Anything that harms one person is going to harm all of us — and will interfere with our progress.
• To establish a safe learning environment for all children, the school district must commit the material and psychological support necessary for their well-being. It should act to ensure that children and their families have access to resources that can inform and help protect them. This includes public support for driver’s licenses for immigrants so that parents can transport children to school and extracurricular activities.
• Children are already concerned that immigration authorities may come to get them or their family members. The school district can and should take steps to assure children that their school is a safe place, that their information is confidential, and that the school will support them and their families to the best of their ability.

What Could the Sanctuary District Resolution Look Like?

• First the Grand Rapids Public School board would pass a resolution to be a Sanctuary School District.
• The GRPS board would issue a press release and public statement stating that in order to keep students safe, Grand Rapids Schools will not be cooperating with ICE, and they will work closely with community partners to provide resources, training, and support for any GRPS families who are being targeted by ICE or have been affected by detention or deportation.
• The resolution would include public support to reinstate making Driver’s Licenses available to undocumented folks who meet the requirements, so that parents can safely transport their children to school and to school events.
• Teachers and staff in schools would be trained on various methods to keep ICE out of schools: this may include:
  • Training staff on the importance of not putting children or families at risk by unnecessarily asking or sharing their immigration status.
  • Posting signs on school doors that state the school is a sanctuary safe space and “ICE is not welcome here.”
  • Training staff how to intervene if ICE is present, and to reach out to groups like Rapid Response to ICE to intervene to keep students and families safe, as well as other community partners.
  • Hosting information and resource sessions with community partners that center the needs of affected families, educate the community on policies and strategies that keep students safe, and allow input and conversation about the ways that ICE violence affects the entire community.