Today, Gov. Ned Lamont and several Hartford-area school superintendents held a press conference to quell concerns that school officials say they have observed amongst members of the state’s undocumented immigrant community.

“Today’s event is about ensuring that every parent and caregiver has the tools they need to prepare for the unexpected, because when families are prepared, students are protected,” said Thomas Anderson, Superintendent of East Hartford Public Schools.

Despite the state’s heightened deportation numbers and heightened federal scrutiny over the state’s immigration policies, superintendents at today’s conference noted that thus far, there have been zero recorded incidents of ICE agents coming into Connecticut schools. Regardless, they felt the conference necessary to respond to a high frequency of questions and concerns levied at school officials from parents, who feel uncertain of the safety of sending their children to school.

“Our schools are still receiving phone calls from families, so it’s our responsibility to communicate with families, to share them what our plan is,” said Steve Rioux, the Superintendent of Putnam Public Schools and President of the Connecticut Associations of Public School Superintendents. “We’re not exaggerating any situations that are taking place. We’re just answering their questions to help them feel safe.”

The state, as well as numerous Connecticut based-stakeholders, have had run ins with the Trump administration several times in recent months over federal officials stance on immigration. In January, the state’s Board of Education released guidance for school officials in the event they’re contacted by ICE agents. The guidance advised schools to appoint designated school officials to speak with ICE, affirmed that schools are not required to maintain student immigration status, and that school administrators should review the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and consult legal counsel prior to providing agents with any requested information.

“The most recent guidance at the State Department of Education has been very helpful to remind our staff that if law enforcement come to our schools and are asking for information, the process is clear,” said Rioux. “Communicate with your superintendent, follow the law and respect student privacy.”

Anderson noted that the East Hartford district is “committed to connecting our families with resources, sharing information and ensuring children feel safe and supported in our schools,” and recommended that undocumented parents craft “family preparedness” plans. Anderson said undocumented parents should identify a trusted guardian who could care for the child in case of their deportation, fill out a guardian designation form for them, and have a list of emergency contacts and need-to-know information in case they need to step in. Anderson also said that if the parents’ deportation is imminent, it is also advisable to provide the guardian with the child’s power of attorney.

“Preparedness should not be about fear, but strength and protection,” said Anderson. “When our families have a plan, they can face challenges with confidence, and children can continue to grow and thrive in a safe, stable environment.”

While today’s speakers noted that their conference was not intended to stoke fear, but in Gov. Lamont’s words, to “get in front of” any potential changes in ICE behavior. In a statement released today, Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield) reiterated the lack of incidents between ICE and school officials, downplaying the need for such a conference. He went on to say the conference highlighted “multiple glaring issues here in Connecticut,” chiefly that the state is “the very definition of a sanctuary state” that protects “criminal aliens at the expense of Connecticut citizens.”

“Connecticut residents overwhelmingly support removing criminal illegal aliens from our streets, but to Connecticut Democrats, that’s an apparently a bad thing,” said Harding. “They had little if anything to say, for example, about ICE’s highly successful ‘Operation Broken Trust’ or the twice-deported Guatemalan man who was recently arrested for aggravated sex assault of a jogger in a New Haven dog park.”

Harding characterized Connecticut Democrats as not taking illegal immigration seriously enough, and concluded by saying that “Republicans continue to support legal immigration, educational achievement, law enforcement and victims of violent crime while demanding safer streets, safer schools and respect for the taxpayers’ money.”

Regardless of the guidance in place, as well as the absence of ICE school visits thus far, Tabitha Sookdeo, Executive Director for Connecticut Students for a Dream, said that the fear amongst undocumented children and their parents is very real. She said that undocumented students “walk into classrooms with enormous weights on their shoulders,” and that “teachers and principals see this fear in attendance, in grades and in mental health.”

Sookdeo shared that she came to the US as an undocumented immigrant as a teenager during the Great Recession, and said that her parents often had to “risk detention as they traveled to other states to find jobs just to put food on the table,” leaving her and her sister to take care of their younger brothers.

“We were children ourselves trying to hold a family together,” said Sookdeo. “No one at our school knew what we were going through, not our teachers, not our classmates. I know what it’s like to be scared, to be hungry and to be exhausted while pretending that everything is fine. No child in Connecticut should ever have to go through that kind of heartache, and today, too many children are living through exactly that.”

Sookdeo thanked school officials for issuing their guidance and advice regarding family preparedness, and called yesterday’s issuance of new judicial branch policies an “important step” in making families feel safer. Regardless, she cited several other instances of immigration actions in the state, such as the continued detention of Kevin Rosero Moreno, as necessitating further action.

“The reality is, that fear remains, and we should continue to sprint in this direction of courage,” said Sookdeo. “We should continue to show our values in the policies that we pass, and we should protect immigrant communities to the fullest extent.”

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