Federal Litigation Challenges Trump Administration’s Revocation of “Sensitive Locations” Policy
EUGENE, Ore.—The two largest educators’ unions in the country—the National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT), representing a total of nearly 5 million educators and staff—as well as impacted members of an Oregon preschool community, have joined a federal lawsuit, PCUN v. Noem, seeking to restore protections that had previously barred ICE from sites where people gather to learn, heal, and worship. These new plaintiffs demonstrate the devastating impact that violent ICE activity is inflicting upon school communities, including on classmates, parents, and educators.
“The violent ICE detention of a preschool student’s father while dropping his child off at our campus earlier this summer has shaken our community to the core,” said the early education plaintiffs from Guidepost Montessori in Beaverton, Oregon. “We have a responsibility to provide a safe and welcoming environment for everyone in our preschool—but that is impossible when ICE agents have unfettered access to school grounds. We are proud to be a part of this lawsuit to defend the rights of our young students, families, and staff.”
Stanford researchers recently found a 22% increase in student absences following increased enforcement activity in California, with the sharpest increases among elementary students. Schools in Nashville similarly reported enrollment drops and increased chronic absenteeism after immigration raids, according to the Nashville Banner.
“Every student who comes into their public school – no matter what they look like or the language they speak – belongs in a safe and welcoming public school so they can learn and grow,” said Becky Pringle, NEA President. “By targeting schools, Donald Trump’s ICE is creating fear and chaos, and our students, their families and communities are paying the price for these traumatic and extreme immigration actions. We have a professional and moral responsibility to keep our students safe. We will continue to show up for our students and their families, and we will stand up at our schools and communities when they are under attack.”
“America’s classrooms must be safe and welcoming places of learning and discovery, not fear and terror,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “We are joining this lawsuit to ensure every child, parent, teacher, and administrator can travel to school each day without the constant threat of masked immigration agents storming their campus. Children and their parents deserve to know they are safe in school, and the Trump administration is failing in that responsibility. Communities have been under immense strain since the president illegally overturned longstanding safe spaces guidance, and we are taking action to uphold the sanctity and security of our schools and the dignity and wellbeing of our kids.”
“The Trump administration eliminated more than thirty years of protections for safe spaces,” said Tess Hellgren, Director of Legal Advocacy at Innovation Law Lab. “We’re asking the court to restore these longstanding, commonsense protections before more community members are harmed.”
“As a mother of two living in Los Angeles, I am furious and heartbroken to know how many kids and parents are scared to go to school each day knowing that ICE agents can storm their campus at any moment. When sacred spaces are opened to the violence of ICE, we all suffer,” said Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director of Justice Action Center. “I am incredibly proud to stand alongside our courageous plaintiffs to defend safe spaces and fight to restore decades-old, bipartisan protections to ensure everyone in our communities have access to the resources, freedom, and care they need and deserve.”
PCUN v. Noem was originally filed in April by community organizations and houses of worship across the country, alleging the Trump administration’s revocation of the sensitive locations guidance violates the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
More information on PCUN v. Noem and related court filings are here.
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