Austin ISD braces for possible ICE raids amid Trump's immigration enforcement

Schools, churches, and hospitals are on edge after President Trump ruled immigration enforcement could happen in these places. 

Austin lawmakers said they should still be off limits.

"When word goes around that there will be some attack on, some raid on people, it sends out fears," U.S. Rep Lloyd Doggett said.

RELATED STORIES:

What are ICE raids?

The backstory:

The Trump administration's ICE raids have begun.

"We have terrorists in our country by the thousands, we have murderers by the tens of thousands. If you look at Venezuela, their crime rate is down by 78% because they took their street gangs and moved them into the United States. You’re seeing that in Colorado and Los Angeles and other places, and we’re going to take care of it," President Donald Trump said.

This week, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations reported arresting more than 500 people with charges or convictions including sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and drug offenses.

In one of President Trump's first official actions, he changed a rule that had been in place since 2011. 

Immigration enforcement can now happen in churches, hospitals, schools, weddings, and funerals, places that were originally off-limits.

The other side:

"I'm all for removing criminals, persons who've been ordered by a court to be removed from our country and their immigration status denied, but I don't think these broad dragnets really make us safer. In fact, they probably encourage some to not report crimes or to be witnesses for the police to crimes," Rep. Doggett said.

"The idea of armed immigration officers showing up at a church discourages people from going to church and very disruptive to our schools. There are other ways to apprehend wrongdoers," Rep. Doggett added.

The nonprofit "Children at Risk" said about 30 percent of children in Texas are immigrants, or children of immigrants. They believe these new policies could devastate families.

"These are children at risk. When we talk about Latino children, children at risk, when we talk about immigrant children, these are children at risk, and frankly, as I mentioned before, this is Texas at risk," Children at Risk President and CEO Bob Sanborn said.

Austin ISD's response

What they're saying:

Austin ISD said they are monitoring any legal changes that may affect student experience. They stated on their website that if law enforcement were to arrive at campus, they would verify the paperwork was valid before allowing them to perform the action authorized. 

They also said if a school learns a parent or guardian responsible for taking custody of a student at the end of the school day has been deported or incarcerated, they will try to get in contact with another guardian. If they can’t, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services will be contacted.

The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis

ImmigrationAustinEducationDonald J. Trump