President Trump may have rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA), but the fight isn’t over. DACA recipients are living, working, and going to school in our country, so we have a duty and responsibility to ensure they are treated equitably and fairly. On Thursday, October 19, 2017, the ACLU of Minnesota sent 619 letters to superintendents and college presidents across the state of Minnesota letting them know what they can do to support DACA students in their schools.
Dreamers, immigrants who came to the United States as children, deserve an opportunity for education. K-12 schools have a responsibility to ensure an equal opportunity education to all students, regardless of immigration status. All schools should put policies in place that affirm and support Dreamers and other immigrant students.
Contact your school and let them know that you value immigrant students and want policies that affirm and support their place in our communities and classrooms.
1. Find the right contact information for the superintendent or college president of your or your child's school.
Parents can find the contact information for the superintendents of their child's school district by visiting the Minnesota Department of Education website. College students can search their college website or call their university student services to find the e-mail of their president.
2. Personalize your message.
Dear___________,
President Trump’s order terminating the successful DACA program, which protects immigrant children from deportation, has created a lot of fear and uncertainty in our communities and our state.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program initiated by President Obama in 2012 was a program that deferred removal for nearly one million noncitizens who arrived in the U.S. as children. This program removed much of the fear and stress that undocumented young people faced as they were growing up in Minnesota. The ending of a successful program like DACA has created a lot of questions about what might happen next.
As a [INSERT ASSOCIATION WITH SCHOOL] at [INSERT YOUR SCHOOL], I believe in offering a safe and equitable educational environment for all students. Our communities are stronger when each person that lives here has an opportunity to learn, and immigrant students contribute to a diverse educational environment from which all students benefit. I would love to see our school adopt pro-active policies that support our most vulnerable immigrant students.
As a concerned [INSERT ASSOCIATION WITH SCHOOL], I am asking you to: [Choose 2-3 examples below (or write your own)]
K-12
- Adopt a policy, already in use by some schools in Minnesota and other states, that protect the rights of immigrant students and affirms the Constitutional right for all children to receive an education.
- Adopt a policy forbidding anyone at the school from inquiring into the immigration status of students or parents, reporting students and their parents to immigration officials, and detaining anyone for the purpose of immigration enforcement.
- Provide training to counselors and support staff on working with immigrant students who may be experiencing additional stress and anxiety due to fear of deportation or family deportations.
- Do not over-criminalize student behavior. Policing can have a disproportionately negative influence on immigrant and noncitizen students, so schools should limit the use of Student Resource Officers (SROs) whenever possible. If sent an undocumented student is sent to juvenile court, it could lead to their deportation.
Colleges/Universities
- Urge Congress to pass legislation to protect Dreamers.
- Provide free legal assistance to Dreamers at your school.
- Offer mental health screenings to students affected by the termination of DACA.
- Share immigration status information only as required by 8 C.F.R. Part 214 or by a judicially signed warrant.
- Create a school-wide plan to deal with immigration agents entering your campus. For example, immigration agents, unless they have judicially signed warrants, should not be able to enter any area, such as a classroom, where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
I know educators at our school are working hard to provide a safe and equitable learning environment for all students. Thank you for what you do each and every day. I hope we can continue to come together and foster the kind of community that supports immigrant children and families. Let’s model the compassion, care, and support that we hope to teach our children in and outside the classroom.
Sincerely,
[INSERT YOUR NAME]
3. Choose a clear, simple subject line for your e-mail.
You want the tone to be respectful and clear. Suggested subject lines include:
- Protect DACA students in our schools
- Immigrant students have a right to an education
- Foster a safe and inclusive educational environment for our students.
4. Include model policies in your ask.
If you are asking your K-12 district to adopt model policies, be sure to include sample. We have listed example policies in our "Resources" section, including the following:
If you are interested in pushing your district to adopt one of these model policies, contact our GMRJP Organizer, Julio Zelaya, at jzelaya@aclu-mn.org.
5. Share on social media.
Spread the word! Share on Facebook and Twitter what you are doing to support immigrant students at your school and tag us @ACLUMN.