Florida goes full steam ahead on immigration enforcement in schools

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s GOP-controlled Legislature disagree over key pieces of newly passed immigration legislation. But they appear to align on teachers and campus police officers being part of the state’s “all-hands-on-deck” plan to aid federal immigration enforcement.

While the exact role, if any, that school employees will play in that enforcement remains unclear – as does whether the bill will even become law – the measures proposed in Florida would ensure that campus doors are open to immigration authorities under a Trump administration that wants the option on the table.

“There’s no bar in the state of Florida for conducting immigration enforcement operations,” DeSantis said Wednesday during an event in Fort Meyers.

The passed legislation would require scores of government employees across the state to cooperate with Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts to the “fullest extent possible,” a charge that includes local teachers, school social workers and campus safety officers.

DeSantis plans to veto the legislation thanks to a conflict with state lawmakers over the bill’s scope, but he has been supportive of the concept of immigration enforcement possibly taking place in schools.

As angst swells over possible on-campus arrests in the country, Democrats argued schools should be off limits.

“Everyone wants dangerous criminals off the streets, but these are kids that we want to protect,” said state Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Weston Democrat. “It just seems like schools should be a safe place.”

During this week’s special session, Democrats needled Republicans over the issue, attempting to determine exactly what the “fullest extent” of immigration enforcement could mean for employees in local schools.

According to state Rep. Lawrence McClure, a Dover Republican who sponsored the House bill, it would compel them to “answer questions and investigative processes honestly.”

“To the fullest extent, in my opinion, is you give it your all,” McClure said on the House floor Tuesday. “You cooperate to the best of your ability.”

These responsibilities, though, could go further depending on what, if any, direction comes down from the Trump administration, as McClure explained after one Democrat asked if a teacher or social worker would have a duty to report a kindergarten student to ICE. School districts, under federal law, are prohibited from asking about a parent or child’s citizenship or immigration status for enrollment purposes, something Democrats say only adds to the uncertainty hanging over campuses.

“So long as it’s not privileged or other legal reasons why, the answer to all of these questions is yes,” McClure said. “To the extent that the federal government asks our folks here in Florida to cooperate, then yes.”

Democrats, despite their small minorities in both chambers, fought to scale back the bill by carving out schools and churches, attempting to create protections in state law similar to those created by the Biden administration and pulled back by Trump this month. Their proposed amendments were rejected by the GOP-dominated Legislature.

“The Trump administration lifted the policy restricting immigration enforcement in sensitive areas like public schools and religious institutions for a reason,” said Orlando Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who introduced one amendment. “They plan on going in there.”

There have been no reported immigration raids or arrests in Florida schools or on campuses across the country so far. Schools in Florida are bracing for the possibility by putting out guidance for how officials should handle federal authorities showing up to campus and warning them not to interfere.

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, this week said that any potential immigration raids in schools would be vetted on a “case-by-case basis” if there was a national security or public safety threat, noting that “it’s never a zero game.” On one hand, Homan has said that children “shouldn’t have to fear ICE agents walking into an elementary school to arrest them,” yet he also implied that undocumented parents in the school pickup line are “not off the table either.”

“It shouldn’t be a chilling effect unless their child is a terrorist or a national security threat,” Homan said during an interview Monday with CNN.

“They’re in the country illegally — they’ve got a problem,” Homan added when asked about parents. “It’s not OK to enter this country illegally, it’s a crime.”

These sentiments have been echoed by DeSantis, who has pressed for Florida to staunchly aid Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts. Although the GOP governor is locked into a bitter feud with the Legislature over policy differences in their bill, DeSantis said he’s on board with potential arrests in Florida schools.

“We will affirmatively assist these operations across the state,” DeSantis said Wednesday. “It will probably be more dependent on them to see how they want to go in or what they want to do.”

“What Biden did, they said you can’t do sensitive [areas], and they drew big circles around any church, any school. The problem is, once you’ve done that, there’s almost no place that you can do it,” DeSantis added. “You could conduct a raid in the woods somewhere.”