Alum Rock trustees oppose ICE facility in South County

An East San Jose school district has joined a growing effort among local education leaders in opposing a planned federal immigration facility in South County. Supporters said it reaffirms the district’s commitment to protecting immigrant students and families.

The Alum Rock Union School District board of trustees on Tuesday approved a resolution opposing the proposed facility in a 4-0 vote, with Board President Linda Chavez abstaining. The resolution doesn’t create any new policies, but reaffirms protections already in place for immigrant students and families in the district. That includes protecting student privacy, providing employees guidance on immigration enforcement and connecting families with resources.

Chavez said she supports the district’s existing protections for immigrant students, but questioned whether the board should weigh in on the proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office outside its boundaries.

“There’s a lot of resolutions that are very political, and they have nothing to do with the learning here in Alum Rock School District,” Chavez said at the meeting. ” I believe that we need to follow the laws of the state, which we all took an oath for, and the federal laws.”

The vote follows a similar resolution adopted by the Santa Clara County Board of Education in June opposing the construction or operation of an ICE office with detention space just outside Gilroy, where officials cited concerns about student well-being, school climate and access to education. The county and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have sued to stop the project, with a hearing set for September.

Trustee Corina Herrera-Loera said she introduced the measure after learning about the proposed federal immigration facility through the Immigrant Protection and Empowerment Network, a coalition led by Amigos de Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment that brings together educators, government officials and community organizations to support immigrant families. She said she is concerned about how the proposed facility could affect students and families in the district.

“As trustees, we have a responsibility not only to govern our schools, but to ensure that every child has access to a safe, welcoming and supportive learning environment,” Herrera-Loera told San José Spotlight.

Trustee Minh Pham said schools should remain welcoming spaces for all students and expressed hope local school districts would continue speaking with one voice on behalf of immigrant families.

“Schools work best when we are a safe place for all our kids,” Pham said at the meeting. “I hope that together as school districts we are able to express a unified voice on behalf of our kids, on behalf of our community.”

Supporters of the resolution said concerns about immigration enforcement continue to affect students’ sense of safety, even years after the Alum Rock Union School District first adopted protections for immigrant families.

Parent David Williams said he saw those fears firsthand following the 2016 presidential election.

“We need to protect everybody, there were kids absolutely crying and bawling their eyes out because they did not know if their mom, dad, grandma or anybody else was going to be home when they got home,” Williams said at the meeting. (President Donald Trump) has gotten worse. (Immigration officers) have gotten worse. People are terrified.”

Contact Maryanne Casas-Perez at [email protected] or @CasasPerezRed on X.