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Mass.’s 2nd largest district says ICE won’t be allowed in schools without criminal judicial warrant
The superintendent sent a message to families Tuesday affirming her support for all students.
Worcester, Massachusetts’ second-largest public school district, announced it would maintain protections to safeguard students in response to one of President Donald Trump’s first actions in office.
Trump announced Tuesday that two key federal immigration agencies, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, will be allowed to make arrests at schools, churches, and hospitals, ending a decades-old policy that delineated those places as “sensitive locations.” It’s one of a slew of actions by the new administration aimed at issues from the economy to the environment.
In an email sent Tuesday to Worcester Public Schools families, Superintendent Rachel Monarrez said the district is “committed to educating all children, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or immigration status.”
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She assured families that the district does not ask for families’ immigration statuses and does not share student records with ICE, except when a court order or parental/guardian consent is provided. It will not coordinate with ICE, she said, and students will only be dismissed to people that have been authorized by parents or guardians in writing.
ICE agents will not be allowed access to Worcester Public Schools facilities based on an administrative warrant, an ICE detainer, or “any other document related to civil immigration enforcement,” Monarrez said. Agents will not have access to the facilities unless they have a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge.
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“Principals and school-based staff have received detailed guidance on protecting students’ rights, responding to ICE interactions, and supporting students whose parents or guardians may be detained during the school day,” Monarrez said.
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Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy shared a joint statement Wednesday afternoon that said to allow ICE agents into schools is “an affront” to the values that define education in Massachusetts.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms President Trump’s directive that would allow ICE agents to raid and arrest students in our public schools,” they said in the statement.
The MTA, a union of teachers and staff in schools and universities across Massachusetts, said it would distribute resources from its national affiliate, the National Education Association, in its newsletter to all MTA members.
“We will fight against this policy with every tool at our disposal and remain committed to ensuring our public schools are spaces of learning, belonging and safety for all students,” they said.
Worcester is Massachusetts’ second-largest city after Boston and its second-largest school district, also after Boston. It served 24,350 students in grades K through 12 across 45 schools during the 2023-24 school year, according to the most recent available Department of Education data, and 46% of the district’s student population is Hispanic, by far the largest single ethnic group.
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Boston Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday about that district’s plans to deal with the new policy.
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