Chicago Public School officials are speaking out after they claim federal ICE agents attempted to enter an elementary school Friday.
According to school leaders, the agents arrived at the school at approximately 11:15am. The district’s Chief Education Officer, Bogdana Chkoumbova, said that school employees followed protocol by not allowing the agents inside.
“They kept ICE agents outside of the school and contacted CPS law department and CPS Office of Safety and Security for further guidance,” Chkoumboya said. “The ICE agents were not allowed into the school and were not permitted to speak to any students or staff members.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency denied its agents were at the school.
“This was not a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounter,” an agency spokesperson told CNN.
Chicago officials said their policy is not to allow agents into the school, or ask families questions about immigration status.
Trump pushing for immigration raids in public schools
The chilling incident comes amid a rash of raids carried out across the country by the new Trump administration. Trump’s acting Homeland Security Secretary, Bejamine Huffman, announced a reversal of longstanding policy, now allowing raids in places once considered off limits.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” Huffman said.
Trump’s willingness to cross longstanding boundaries with raids is sending ripple effects across the country. While many public school officials are standing up to protect schools from traumatizing raids, some are instead siding with Trump.
Oklahoma’s State Superintendent of Public Education, Ryan Walters, told Tulsa’s Channel 8 that he would allow raids in the state’s schools.
“You’re not completely ruling out a raid on an Oklahoma school?” KTUL reporter Brenna Rose asked Walters.
“No, if that’s what President Trump sees fit, as there’s an illegal immigrant population there that needs to have enforcement there to remove them from the schools, absolutely,” he said. “We will work with him to make sure he’s able to carry that out.”