Denver Public Schools, the largest public school district in Colorado, has made history by being the first in the United States to take legal action against the Trump administration. This move comes as a direct response to concerns about ICE raids occurring on school premises.
In a bold move, the school district filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Their lawsuit challenges the decision made by the administration to eliminate a policy that previously recognized schools (as well as other places like churches) as sensitive locations where immigration enforcement actions would be limited.
The policy was enacted in 2011 under former President Barack Obama.
One of the main arguments put forward by Denver Public Schools is that the removal of this policy has created a situation where schools are now having to divert their time and resources towards educating students and staff on how to protect themselves from immigration enforcement activities.
The goal of the lawsuit is for the Trump administration to hopefully reinstate the policy banning immigration enforcement activities from taking place at schools, though no ICE raids have taken place on school grounds.
Denver Public Schools has trained staff on how to handle ICE officers if they show up at school, telling them to deny agents entry if they don’t have a warrant signed by a judge.
“Parents across Denver enroll their children in public schools believing that while at school, their children will be educated and enriched without fear the government will enforce immigration laws on those premises,” the lawsuit said, via The AP.
Denver Public Schools told staff they can deny ICE agents entry into the school if they don’t have a warrant signed by a judge. (iStock)
The lawsuit also stated that there were more than 90,000 students in the Denver Public Schools system during the 2023-2024 school year, and approximately 4,000 were immigrants.
Denver has seen a massive population jump in recent years as the city predicts nearly 43,000 people have arrived in the area from the southern border, the lawsuit said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
