Schools Warned to Be Vigilant Over Immigration Officers

An episode in Queens involving federal immigration officers and a 4th grader last week has generated alarm among educators and city officials. 

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said they showed up at the Maspeth school on a routine visit, in order to verify the student's enrollment related to immigration benefits. 

But at an immigration forum on Monday, United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew said schools officials had to be vigilant.

"In our very nature that's what we do, is we protect. And we educate. And those things go hand in hand," he said.

Teachers at the forum said they would benefit from more training, so they would know what to do if immigration officers showed up at their school.

The city's Commissioner for Immigrant Affairs Nisha Agarwal said the city has re-issued its protocols on how schools should deal with immigration officers.

"In addition, we've been working with D.O.E. to do 'Know Your Rights' forums — with faculty, with students, with parents — so that, on this general issue of immigration, people feel like they know what their rights are, they understand the system a little bit, and we're equipping people with that knowledge."

The Department of Education has said that students have a right to go to school regardless of their immigration status.