Immigration advocates prepare vulnerable families for back-to-school season

As many families across Nevada are preparing for the upcoming school year, the Nevada Immigrant Coalition is urging immigrant parents to create a plan and educate their children on their rights ahead of returning to school.

The coalition, made up of nonprofits and immigration advocates, is responding to the Trump administration’s actions against immigrant families, such as removing protections to keep immigration enforcement from “sensitive locations” like schools and churches. The advocates said in a statement that they feel communities across Nevada are unprotected and that they plan to help in any way to make sure students feel safe going back to school.

“In Nevada, immigrant parents should feel reassured that the State’s two largest school districts, Clark and Washoe, have enacted policies since 2017 which protect the rights of all students, regardless of immigration status, and that Nevada’s two largest school districts will not participate in federal immigration enforcement actions,” the statement read. 

This also comes after Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed Assembly Bill 217, which would’ve protected public schools from federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement from entering and detaining students and staff without a warrant. Both Clark and Washoe counties’ school districts have implemented policies prohibiting teachers and schools from cooperating with ICE unless agents present a judge-signed warrant specifying who they are looking for and why.

After Lombardo’s decision, the Nevada Immigrant Coalition stated that “as community organizers, we are stepping up where the governor has failed and will continue to fight to protect our communities and keep families together.”

The Nevada Immigrant Coalition is encouraging families to take the following steps:

• Send children with a Know Your Rights Red Card in their backpack or wallet.
• Prepare a family plan and write down emergency contact information for parents, trusted relatives, and an attorney (if you have one).
• Note any allergies and keep medicine safely stored.
• Know that schools cannot share student information with ICE without parental consent under a federal privacy law (FERPA).
• Public schools must protect students’ right to an education, no matter their immigration status.
• Parents can ask their school about their plan in case ICE agents show up.
• Practice with children to assert their rights to: 
  • Remain silent.
  • Refuse searches of their personal belongings.
  • Have the right to ask for their parents or an attorney if they are detained, or to be present before answering questions.
  • Not sign anything without a trusted adult or lawyer present.

The Nevada Immigrant Coalition urges community members to stay safe while they continue to fight for immigration rights. For more information and resources, visit the Nevada Immigration Coalition website.