Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be able to conduct raids on public schools, a District Court Judge has ruled, in a major legal win for the Trump administration.
Judge Daniel Domenico ruled against efforts by public schools in Denver to prevent immigration officials from carrying out raids on school grounds.
The schools filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last month over a new policy that reversed a Biden-era ban on immigration raids in schools.
The lawsuit claimed the new policy caused attendance to fall dramatically because there are roughly 4,000 illegals in the school district, primarily of Hispanic extraction.
“DPS is hindered in fulfilling its mission of providing education and life services to the students who are refraining from attending DPS schools for fear of immigration enforcement actions occurring on DPS school grounds,” the lawsuit stated.
“Parents across Denver enroll their children in public schools believing that while at school, their children will be educated and enriched without fear the government will enforce immigration laws on those premises.”
The schools sought a preliminary injunction against the DHS and Secretary Noem, but this was denied by Judge Domenico, a Trump appointee.
“The fear over the new rules, as well as the belief that the old rules provided protection to schools, both seem to be overstated,” Domenico ruled.
He also noted that there had been no ICE raids on schools so far, and that raids on schools and other “sensitive places” require approval from supervisors.