One week into his second term, Donald Trump’s policies are sowing fear in San Francisco’s school and immigrant communities, thanks to threats both real and imagined.
On Jan. 21, the day after Trump’s inauguration, the federal Justice Department issued a memo threatening sanctuary cities that obstruct his promised sweeping deportation plan. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quickly began mass arrests in Chicago, Newark, and Miami, surprising local officials.
In the Bay Area, there have been several smaller enforcement actions, with a handful of ICE arrests in downtown San Francisco and San Jose. Other ICE-related reports have turned out to be rumors, including a recent false alarm that sent shockwaves through the San Francisco Unified School District.
While San Francisco has so far been spared the mass arrests other cities have seen, immigration experts are worried it’s only a matter of time. All of this has led to an atmosphere of anxiety, and even terror, for San Francisco families.
According to a teacher at a San Francisco public school, several local families with immigrant parents have given the school documentation about their children’s legal guardianship, so staff can send children home with trusted adults if their parents get detained. One such parent now drops their student off a distance from the school, not daring to come to the building, the teacher told Gazetteer SF.
“It’s all so scary for families,” the teacher said. “We’ve been told our school will not be handing anyone over to ICE.” (The teacher spoke on condition of anonymity, to protect the child and the family).
The teacher added that school officials will also not be turning over such paperwork to SFUSD, instead keeping it for internal use. In an emailed response, school district spokesperson Katrina Kincade shared an informational letter Superintendent Maria Su published for immigrant families, and a FAQ page.
Local and state officials in California are generally prohibited from assisting with federal immigration enforcement. Anticipating Trump’s actions, California Attorney General Rob Bonta in December updated the state’s legal guidance to more strongly protect immigrants’ rights.
Bonta’s office said in an emailed statement to Gazetteer that recent ICE crackdowns are a “departure from longstanding federal policy” limiting immigration enforcement in sensitive areas, such as schools, courthouses, healthcare facilities, and shelters.
Teachers and principals can refuse ICE access to their schools, unless officers demonstrate an urgent need or have a judicial warrant, according to Bonta. School staff also don’t have to turn over information or records about a student without a warrant or court order.
The San Francisco Police Department and a spokeswoman for San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto told Gazetteer that they will not assist ICE in any immigration enforcement. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and City Attorney David Chiu have reaffirmed the city’s resistance to ICE actions. SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su confirmed last week that the school district is a “safe haven” for students, no matter what their citizenship status is.
But such assurances haven’t allayed the fear that the Trump administration has injected into San Francisco’s immigrant families. In the incident last week, a rumor began when a middle schooler claimed they had been detained by ICE officials on a public bus, eventually causing Su to issue a mass warning to SFUSD parents by email. The incident was later debunked.
Andrea Mejia, the organizing director at Coleman Advocates, an organization dedicated to advancing racial and economic justice in the city, said separating fact from fiction about ICE actions is a key part of informing the families that the organization helps, without spreading unnecessary alarm.
“That’s really all our families are talking about right now,” Mejia said, referring to the crackdowns and arrests. “They’re wondering how they can keep themselves and their families safe. The fear is that the families will be split up, that the parents will be taken.”
Mejia told Gazetteer she thinks immigrants with outstanding warrants or criminal records are most at risk of ICE deportation. Coleman Advocates is educating families about their rights, what they can do to stay safe, and how to create plans in the event that a loved one is detained. It is also arranging one-on-one conversations with family members who want to talk to immigration lawyers.
Other organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, are offering free legal advice to immigrants who have made their homes here.
