Superintendent Stephen Walker told staff that all inquiries by ICE officials must be referred to his office. Detailed instructions about judicial warrants were provided.
Interesting article all children in New York State of appropriate age are eligible to be enrolled in our public schools. I would hope the first priority for any demand for information about my child by an outside party or request to see my child would involve contacting me immediately.
Very good point. And yes, under both state law and federal court decisions, all children in the United States are legally entitled to an education no matter what their immigration status.
Undocumented students have a right to an education because the law says so. Ice agents have a duty and right to do their job because the law says so. Follow the law! Take the politics out of it!
Agreed. There is a process and right way to legally immigrate to most countries. That should be followed.
Not to make this political on my end, but I think much of the need and purpose of ICE is reactionary to the policies of the last few years, where I believe (and there is proof) that some bad people took advantage and freely got into this country and are now doing bad things here.
I don’t think the goal is to nab the illegal doing honest and good work here, but at the same time, that person should be able to show and prove some good faith that they are working towards citizenship.
I wouldn’t expect myself to just be able to go into a country, work and get some benefit of that country and never comply with the proper immigration laws to obtain citizenship status.
To me the whole tone of Walker's memo seems to insinuate that ICE agents are the "bad guys" . I and a majority of American citizens believe that enforcing the immigration law is a good and very necessary activity. Sadly, this position by the leader of a public school helps to illustrate the fact that the education of our children has become very politicized, especially in NYS.
The Superintendent's response is in line with all schools. Schools don't make it political; comments like yours do. As an educator, we are an unbroken and unbowed line of defense for ALL students whether gun or government. I would hope to hear the Superintendent's message echoed by ALL of our neighboring districts. Children in NYS have a right to an education, no matter their status. Especially ones who walked thousands of miles to get one.
I know plenty of undocumented/ illegal immigrants who help run restaurants and various service businesses and are important for our society and economy, especially around here.
I also think that someone shouldn’t be able to just arrive and live in a country without going through the proper legal process.
After our border floodgates opened in particular the past few years, I don’t have an issue with ICE going after those who are dangerous or criminals. But I think common sense has to prevail and my hope is that despite all the big talk, there is vetting going on and hard working members of society are fine, so long as they are making a good faith effort in attaining citizenship.
I understand the statement from the school and find it hard to believe that there are threats in our school relating to this. But we are also very sheltered here in Croton and that mentality might not hold true elsewhere. I do have an issue with churches and towns making statements that everyone should be protected though.
Thank you for your comment. While we may feel protected in Croton because we are a mostly white, middle and upper class community (for the most part), we are not immune from what ICE officers might do. This is also not just about protecting immigrant students, but any student who might be traumatized by the sight of seeing one of their classmates hauled off. I am not saying this is likely, but the Trump administration has stated clearly that it has the right to go into schools and churches. I think that district officials should have informed the entire community of this policy, rather than just staff, for this very reason.
Yes, but I also have no issue with ICE coming into Croton if they have knowledge of dangerous individuals in Croton, which I don’t think anyone would be against.
What is a little unsettling for me is that once ICE got the authorization, they knew exactly where to find certain individuals in neighboring towns, which goes to show that the intelligence has been out there for some time, but I guess no one could do anything about it.
Exactly! If ICE has information that a dangerous individual is here, why should the school or clergy get in the way? If it turns into a “let’s round up all the brown people” which is clearly unconstitutional, then I’m all for protecting them. This shouldn’t have been a political issue. Democrats are hurting themselves taking the position of “the gang member has the right to go to school with your kids.”
Perhaps this explains - at least in part - why the 300 thousand dollar man (empty suit Steve Walker) refuses to allow School Resource Officers at any of the three schools, despite the fact that the district was the subject of a confirmed threat a year ago.
Please remember the commenting rules against personal attacks. “Empty suit” could be construed that way, since we are concerned here about policies and not personalities. This one is borderline so I will not delete it, but please consider it a caution.
How many students are public safety threats in our high school? If none, nothing to worry about. But if the answer is >0, is our district willing to be held responsible if something bad happens? How does the district know who’s a public safety threat? Do they run background checks?
I fail to see the relationship between immigration issues of the kind this policy is intended to deal with and “public safety threats” in the schools. This seems to reflect Trump’s insinuations that all undocumented immigrants are criminals which is far from the truth. The crime rate among immigrants in the US is lower than among citizens, statistically speaking.
I’m taking Tom Homan at his word when he says they will come to schools if they know a student, assuming high school, is a public safety threat (gang member, drug dealer, etc). And, No, I do not intend to insinuate that being undocumented in high school is a safety threat. We’re not going to send our kids to school carrying their papers with them.
I could be misunderstanding your point, but there is always a greater than zero risk of public safety threats in schools, right? The existence of violence in schools proves this.
If I understand you correctly, you're proposing that the school district should consider running background checks on students who are not currently US citizens? Is that it?
All the undocumented "illegal" immigrants in this country should know and understand their status in this country. Whose fault is it if they are traumatized should they witness an ICE agent enforcing the law? Also, the small business owners and farmers who employ undocumented "illegal" immigrants should have been aware that eventually someone might actually enforce the law. I won't get into the financial ramifications of the underground economy which is alive and well in this country.
How about the "you deal with these people every day" economy? Stop and think who picks your food, cooks your food, serves your food, fixes your shoes, your car, your phone, mans the gas station at at 3 a.m.? The ones you see are here working, and they have a role in this community and in this economy. Small businesses and farms wouldn't exist without these workers. Once these workers are gone, so are your small businesses. These workers have helped grow our economy, and their loss will cause less competition, and thus, higher prices. It's only going to get worse.
Financial ramifications of sending money home: feeding families, educating children, maybe saving a younger brother or sister from making such a heartbreaking, difficult trip to a country where you're unwanted, invisible, and considered less than human by the unenlightened.
Interesting article all children in New York State of appropriate age are eligible to be enrolled in our public schools. I would hope the first priority for any demand for information about my child by an outside party or request to see my child would involve contacting me immediately.
Very good point. And yes, under both state law and federal court decisions, all children in the United States are legally entitled to an education no matter what their immigration status.
Thank you for confirming what we have heard.
Undocumented students have a right to an education because the law says so. Ice agents have a duty and right to do their job because the law says so. Follow the law! Take the politics out of it!
Agreed. There is a process and right way to legally immigrate to most countries. That should be followed.
Not to make this political on my end, but I think much of the need and purpose of ICE is reactionary to the policies of the last few years, where I believe (and there is proof) that some bad people took advantage and freely got into this country and are now doing bad things here.
I don’t think the goal is to nab the illegal doing honest and good work here, but at the same time, that person should be able to show and prove some good faith that they are working towards citizenship.
I wouldn’t expect myself to just be able to go into a country, work and get some benefit of that country and never comply with the proper immigration laws to obtain citizenship status.
To me the whole tone of Walker's memo seems to insinuate that ICE agents are the "bad guys" . I and a majority of American citizens believe that enforcing the immigration law is a good and very necessary activity. Sadly, this position by the leader of a public school helps to illustrate the fact that the education of our children has become very politicized, especially in NYS.
The Superintendent's response is in line with all schools. Schools don't make it political; comments like yours do. As an educator, we are an unbroken and unbowed line of defense for ALL students whether gun or government. I would hope to hear the Superintendent's message echoed by ALL of our neighboring districts. Children in NYS have a right to an education, no matter their status. Especially ones who walked thousands of miles to get one.
I know plenty of undocumented/ illegal immigrants who help run restaurants and various service businesses and are important for our society and economy, especially around here.
I also think that someone shouldn’t be able to just arrive and live in a country without going through the proper legal process.
After our border floodgates opened in particular the past few years, I don’t have an issue with ICE going after those who are dangerous or criminals. But I think common sense has to prevail and my hope is that despite all the big talk, there is vetting going on and hard working members of society are fine, so long as they are making a good faith effort in attaining citizenship.
I understand the statement from the school and find it hard to believe that there are threats in our school relating to this. But we are also very sheltered here in Croton and that mentality might not hold true elsewhere. I do have an issue with churches and towns making statements that everyone should be protected though.
Thank you for your comment. While we may feel protected in Croton because we are a mostly white, middle and upper class community (for the most part), we are not immune from what ICE officers might do. This is also not just about protecting immigrant students, but any student who might be traumatized by the sight of seeing one of their classmates hauled off. I am not saying this is likely, but the Trump administration has stated clearly that it has the right to go into schools and churches. I think that district officials should have informed the entire community of this policy, rather than just staff, for this very reason.
Yes, but I also have no issue with ICE coming into Croton if they have knowledge of dangerous individuals in Croton, which I don’t think anyone would be against.
What is a little unsettling for me is that once ICE got the authorization, they knew exactly where to find certain individuals in neighboring towns, which goes to show that the intelligence has been out there for some time, but I guess no one could do anything about it.
Exactly! If ICE has information that a dangerous individual is here, why should the school or clergy get in the way? If it turns into a “let’s round up all the brown people” which is clearly unconstitutional, then I’m all for protecting them. This shouldn’t have been a political issue. Democrats are hurting themselves taking the position of “the gang member has the right to go to school with your kids.”
Perhaps this explains - at least in part - why the 300 thousand dollar man (empty suit Steve Walker) refuses to allow School Resource Officers at any of the three schools, despite the fact that the district was the subject of a confirmed threat a year ago.
Please remember the commenting rules against personal attacks. “Empty suit” could be construed that way, since we are concerned here about policies and not personalities. This one is borderline so I will not delete it, but please consider it a caution.
How many students are public safety threats in our high school? If none, nothing to worry about. But if the answer is >0, is our district willing to be held responsible if something bad happens? How does the district know who’s a public safety threat? Do they run background checks?
I fail to see the relationship between immigration issues of the kind this policy is intended to deal with and “public safety threats” in the schools. This seems to reflect Trump’s insinuations that all undocumented immigrants are criminals which is far from the truth. The crime rate among immigrants in the US is lower than among citizens, statistically speaking.
I’m taking Tom Homan at his word when he says they will come to schools if they know a student, assuming high school, is a public safety threat (gang member, drug dealer, etc). And, No, I do not intend to insinuate that being undocumented in high school is a safety threat. We’re not going to send our kids to school carrying their papers with them.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/27/politics/video/tom-homan-trump-border-czar-schools-churches-digvid
I could be misunderstanding your point, but there is always a greater than zero risk of public safety threats in schools, right? The existence of violence in schools proves this.
If I understand you correctly, you're proposing that the school district should consider running background checks on students who are not currently US citizens? Is that it?
See my comment as well.
All the undocumented "illegal" immigrants in this country should know and understand their status in this country. Whose fault is it if they are traumatized should they witness an ICE agent enforcing the law? Also, the small business owners and farmers who employ undocumented "illegal" immigrants should have been aware that eventually someone might actually enforce the law. I won't get into the financial ramifications of the underground economy which is alive and well in this country.
How about the "you deal with these people every day" economy? Stop and think who picks your food, cooks your food, serves your food, fixes your shoes, your car, your phone, mans the gas station at at 3 a.m.? The ones you see are here working, and they have a role in this community and in this economy. Small businesses and farms wouldn't exist without these workers. Once these workers are gone, so are your small businesses. These workers have helped grow our economy, and their loss will cause less competition, and thus, higher prices. It's only going to get worse.
Financial ramifications of sending money home: feeding families, educating children, maybe saving a younger brother or sister from making such a heartbreaking, difficult trip to a country where you're unwanted, invisible, and considered less than human by the unenlightened.