President Trump’s directive to allow federal immigration officials to make arrests at public schools and houses of worship, traditionally safe havens for undocumented immigrants, prompted outrage and shock among the state’s educators and religious leaders, with some vowing to protect families regardless of the federal orders.
Schools are seeking legal guidance from the state attorney general, among others, and are falling back on foundational principles protecting student privacy. Places of worship, meanwhile, are preparing for a fight to protect their ability to provide sanctuary.
“I suspect the intent is to create chaos,” said the Rev. Laura Everett, executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. “Churches are by definition sanctuaries, and we have a right to worship without fear or intimidation.”
Everett said she had expected the policy change and was consulting with lawyers and her organization’s board Wednesday.
Trump’s directive, announced Tuesday, reverses guidance that for over a decade has restricted two key federal immigration agencies — Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — from carrying out immigration enforcement in sensitive locations.
Officers enforcing immigration laws will now be able to arrest migrants at locations like schools and churches after the Trump administration threw out policies limiting where those arrests could happen, the Associated Press reported. The directive also allows for immigration enforcement in previously exempted places such as health care facilities, domestic violence centers, and playgrounds.
School districts statewide sought guidance from the state attorney general’s office, which has already sued to block Trump’s attempt to eliminate birthright citizenship.
Worcester Public Schools officials sent an email to staff, students, and families, saying it would not coordinate with ICE agents nor would agents be allowed on campuses without criminal warrants signed by a federal judge.
“We will not admit ICE agents into schools based on an administrative warrant, an ICE detainer, or any other document related to civil immigration enforcement,” Superintendent Rachel H. Monarrez wrote in the email.
Worcester Public Schools, the state’s second-largest district, had 24,530 students enrolled from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade in the 2023-2024 school year, according to the most recent available state data. Hispanic students made up 46 percent of the enrollment, the district’s largest single ethnic group, data show.
On Wednesday, the district issued an update saying, “There have been no sightings of immigration officials or ICE at bus stops or at schools in Worcester Public Schools today.”
Several other districts emphasized that they would not inquire about students’ immigration status and would protect the privacy of student records.
In Brockton, where almost half of the district’s 15,280 students do not speak English as their first language, principals and staff have been directed to send federal immigration agents to the superintendent’s office while the district seeks legal guidance, Brockton School District Superintendent Priya Tahiliani said during a meeting of the School Committee Tuesday night. She didn’t anticipate shifts in federal policy affecting how the district interacts with immigration agents, she said.
“There have been changes as of today even,” she said, “however as far as how we as a school system are going to handle anything, I don’t think it’s going to change our implementation.”
Educators statewide were furious over the president’s policy.
“We have never, all capital letters, never, experienced anything like this,” said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, which offers guidance and support to districts statewide. “Every day it’s something different to make somebody fearful and frightened and threatened.”
The Massachusetts Teachers Association condemned the new ICE directives.
“To have ICE agents raid and make arrests in our schools is an affront to these values and a direct attack on the sanctity of our shared mission to nurture and educate every child,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday.
Local immigration lawyers are also at the ready to combat what they say is a clear violation of a child’s right to public education, regardless of immigration status.
“We stand ready to protect all students and will exercise all available legal options to safeguard schools as protected spaces,” Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, said in an email.
Trump’s new policy will turn “sacred and safe spaces for children” into harmful ones with far-reaching consequences, Espinoza-Madrigal said.
“Immigration enforcement in schools would compromise safety and have devastating consequences, including severe emotional and mental distress for children,“ he said. ”This type of immigration enforcement would place students in immediate danger and trigger deep fear, making students and their families less likely to communicate or collaborate with school officials to ensure a positive educational experience.”
Trump’s directive reversed ICE guidance dating back to 2011. Customs and Border Protection issued similar guidance in 2013.
Trump has made cracking down on immigration a top priority, just as he did during his first term. Just hours after being sworn in Monday, Trump signed executive orders that included cutting off access to an app that facilitated the entry of hundreds of thousands of migrants; suspending the refugee system; and promoting greater cooperation between ICE and local and state governments.
He has often portrayed his efforts as unleashing the ability of ICE agents and others in immigration enforcement from Biden-era guidelines that he said restricted their efforts to find and remove people who no longer have the authority to remain in the country.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.
The announcement Tuesday had been expected, but it was still jarring for advocates who have argued that raising the prospect of deportation at churches, schools, or hospitals can prevent migrants from getting medical attention or allowing their children to attend school.
“We cannot and we will not stand by silently when the protected status of houses of worship are threatened for us or for any community,” said Jeremy Burton, chief executive of the Jewish Community Relations Council.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez. Jason Laughlin can be reached at jason.laughlin@globe.com. Follow him @jasmlaughlin.