Broward schools guide principals on how to deal with new immigration policy

Many school principals around the country are preparing for the possibility of having to deal with President Donald Trump’s new immigration policies.

On Monday, Angela R. Fulton, a Broward County Public Schools deputy superintendent, issued a “federal immigration policy and update for schools” memo.

“No student information should be released without proper authorization,” Fulton wrote to school principals adding that if “specific situations” arise they need to contact the district’s general counsel “before taking any action.”

Fulton explained that student records are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that is about half a century old.

“We are closely monitoring these developments and the implications for our schools and communities,” Fulton wrote.

The Trump administration also ended the humanitarian parole program and allowed immigration law enforcement at schools and churches.

Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, recently told ABC News that the arrests at schools are under planning.

“How many MS-13 members are the age 14 to 17? Many of them,” Homan said.

There was a scare Friday in Chicago when the U.S. Secret Service was investigating a TitTok post at Hamline Elementary School. Administrators feared it was ICE.

The 38 Democratic members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus condemned the new policies saying the actions “sow fear, break families apart, and erode trust.”

Adriana Rivera, of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said the Trump administration’s policy is cruel and she hopes that school administrators “put the humanity of the kids first.”

Miami-Dade County Public Schools released a statement saying the district was planning to comply with local, state, and federal law.

“We are talking about kids. Not matter how they got here or their background these are children,” Rivera said Monday.

Read the BCPS memo: