Denver Public Schools sued over the policy which it said was in contravention of federal law.
A federal judge on March 7 declined to block a new federal immigration enforcement policy that lets agents enter schools to arrest illegal immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Domenico, during a hearing in Colorado, rejected a request from Denver Public Schools to enter a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction against the policy. He said that Denver Public Schools failed to prove that a drop in attendance was due to a new policy from President Donald Trump’s administration.
The federal government in January rescinded guidelines that largely barred federal officers from arresting illegal immigrants at certain places, including schools and food banks.
Denver Public Schools said in its lawsuit that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had not demonstrated there were good reasons to implement the change.
“Defendants have provided no evidence that it examined relevant data, or any data. For example, Defendants have not cited any evidence to support its statement that criminals were hiding in schools,” the suit stated.
That means the move was arbitrary and capricious, in contravention of federal law, Denver officials said.
A DHS spokesperson said at the time that the administration was “protecting our schools, places of worship, and Americans who attend by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting these locations and taking safe haven there because these criminals knew law enforcement couldn’t go inside under the previous Administration. DHS’s directive gives our law enforcement the ability to do their jobs.”
A DHS official said in a Jan. 31 memorandum that a supervisor needed to approve immigration enforcement operations at or near churches and other “protected areas.”
Since the policy change, Denver school officials said that there has been a decrease in school attendance and a slew of reported ICE raids around schools. Denver’s superintendent told the court that students and parents had been arrested in the raids, stoking fear in the school community.
