Parents fear Immigration raids at schools in Palm Beach County

LAKE WORTH, Fla. (CBS12) — Following growing fear from parents, Broward County Schools recently took steps to protect children of undocumented immigrants while they’re in school.

Now, immigrant advocates want Palm Beach County Schools to do the same.

Teachers in Lake Worth tell CBS12 on a ‘Day Without Immigrants’ there were rumors going around in the community that the schools would be raided, so hundreds of students didn’t show because of fears, and the strike itself.

Mariana Blanco teaches an after-school program in Lake Worth for kids through the Guatemalan-Maya Center.

Teachers say they’ve noticed growing fears from families.

“The parents big issue is where am I safe, where are my kids safe?” Blanco said.

Parents have started walking their kids to school instead of driving, to avoid being pulled over by police.

Blanco says some kids have even been sent to school with their papers in fear of a raid.

“In order to make sure our kids are safe, we need to have something similar to Broward, to ensure parents have nothing to worry about,” Blanco said.

Broward County just passed a resolution that prevents Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering schools or school events without warrants.

Any requests to access schools or get information about a student would be directed to the district’s attorney.

In Broward, they also created a plan of action on how to handle students if their parents get deported.

CBS12 asked the Palm Beach County School District what measures are being taken to protect immigrant students.

The district sent home a letter to reassure parents:

I know that the national conversations about immigration policy have many of you worried. I want to assure you of my commitment to ensure that our schools continue to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all students, regardless of their national origin.

In Florida, public schools are not permitted to ask about a family’s immigration status or share a student’s educational records with outside agencies without parental consent, a court order, or a subpoena.

The law requires us to educate every child that comes through our doors. It does not matter how or when you came to our community-please know that your child is always welcome at our schools and our school communities.

The greatest gift we can give our children is an education. It is important that you send your child to school every day.

Please do not hesitate to speak with your child’s principal or school counselor if you have any questions or concerns.

The school district tells us at this point there's no agenda item to further protections, but the district says the superintendent is more than likely to talk about the issue at the next board meeting.