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Chicago teachers and parents are bracing for the possibility that the Trump administration will increase immigration enforcement and deploy the National Guard to the city, even though it is unclear when or even if troops are coming.
Brenda Rivera, a Chicago Public Schools parent and a parent leader for Kids First Chicago, said she is feeling “extremely sad” about the prospect of the Trump administration sending more Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents or National Guard troops to the city.
“Families will keep their kids at home out of fear for their safety or for them being picked up, whether you know, by mistake or not by mistake,” Rivera said when asked if she thinks parents will keep their kids at home. “Students will miss out on their school. I have no doubt.”
In a message to families on Friday, interim CPS CEO Macquline King said the district has “strong protocols in place” to protect students and reiterated that ”school is still the best, safest place for students, especially in these early weeks of the year.”
Friday’s letter also included a new document with guidance for what families should plan for in case there is an increase in federal agents in the city. The Chicago Board of Education passed a resolution last fall to protect students regardless of their immigration status.
The Chicago Teachers Union announced at a press conference on Wednesday that teachers around the city would start handing out flyers on Friday to help families understand their rights.
Stacy Davis Gates, president of the teachers union, floated the idea of using remote learning as a way to keep students learning, referencing Los Angeles Unified School District. According to an article by ABC 7 Los Angeles, the district has had an increase in students enrolling in virtual classes this year.
“I’m not looking to relitigate online learning, but I’m also not looking to relitigate the Civil War,” Davis Gates said. However, she doubted that CPS is ready to make online learning available to families and the district’s Friday message to families did not include anything about remote learning options.
CPS said it does not collect students’ immigration status or coordinate with federal agents. The district does not share student records, except in rare cases when court order is issued or consent is provided by parents. It also does not allow federal agents access to schools without a “criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge.”
In a weekly message on Wednesday, State Superintendent Tony Sanders encouraged school officials across the state to review the state’s guidance on how schools should interact with federal agents.
“Let me take this moment to re-emphasize that all students deserve the comfort of knowing that they belong in our schools – without fear,” wrote Sanders. “Public schools should be safe havens, and parents should be assured that their children will be protected while in our care.”
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill in August called the Safe Schools for All Act, codifying protections from a 1982 Supreme Court case, known as Plyler v. Doe. The decision said students, regardless of their immigration status, have the right to receive a free public education.
Over the last few weeks, the Trump administration has threatened to send more federal law enforcement agencies to the city under the guise of reducing crime — even though crime in the city has dropped to its lowest levels since the 1960s, according to a report by WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times.
The Trump administration sent National Guard troops to stop protests against Immigration and Custom Enforcement, or ICE, raids in Los Angeles earlier in the summer. The federal government also deployed National Guard troops in Washington D.C. in August.
On Tuesday, a federal judge in California ruled that the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles violated federal law, according to a report by the Associated Press.
On the same day, President Donald Trump said at a press conference he wants Pritzker to call him and ask for support from federal law enforcement.
“I’d be honored to take his call. All he has to do is say, ‘Sir, we need help. It’s out of control,’ and everyone knows it is,” Trump said. “I would love to do it now. We’re going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it because I have an obligation to protect this country.”
Pritzker declined to do so later on in the day at a press conference in the city.
Pritzker said on Tuesday he believes the Trump administration has started to position federal agents and military vehicles at the Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, the largest military base in Illinois. The Department of Homeland Security asked the Pentagon to host 250 agents and 140 vehicles at the base, according to a report by CBS News.
Pritzker speculated that the Trump administration was relocating troops from Los Angeles. He also said federal agents in unmarked cars and in masks are planning to raid Latino communities. Pritzker said he believes federal authorities chose the month of September to increase the presence of ICE agents because of Mexican Independence Day celebrations that take place in the city.
A popular festival in Chicago’s Grant Park celebrating Mexican Independence Day scheduled for next weekend was cancelled this week. Organizers told Block Club Chicago that city and state officials advised them to call off the celebration.
On Thursday, the governor said in a press conference that while he can’t “override” actions by the federal government in the state, he plans to “immediately go to court” if military troops are sent into the city to get a temporary restraining order or another court order to block the deployment.
Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order earlier this month to protest the deployment of National Guard troops or other federal agents to Chicago. The order requires city departments to support Chicagoans, bars federal agents from wearing masks and requires them to provide identification, and keeps the Chicago Police Department under the authority of the city of Chicago.
Becky Vevea contributed to this report.
Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.
