Entities share policies

By ARABELLA SERRATA
editor@sbnewspaper.com

In the wake of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] activity in the Rio Grande Valley, many area cities, establishments, and law enforcement have come out to clarify how they will be interacting with ICE.

The Department of Homeland Security [DHS] released a statement on Jan. 21 announcing the Trump administration is rescinding the Biden administration’s guidelines on limiting law enforcement in or near “sensitive” areas. According to the National Immigration Law Center, Biden’s policy included places of worship, healthcare facilities, places where children gather such as playgrounds and bus stops, social services establishments, disaster and emergency response sites, weddings, funerals, religious ceremonies, parades, demonstrations, and rallies.

The American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] advises people to remain calm and not give out false information.

It is encouraged to prepare any family members for a possible arrest and to memorize family and lawyer phone numbers. The ACLU emphasized the people’s rights. Those who are facing an ICE encounter at home still maintain their rights to remain silent, refuse consent to a search, right to a lawyer, and refuse to answer questions regarding birthplace and citizenship status.

The Cameron County Sheriff’s Department announced that they “are not immigration officers” and “do not conduct operations or engage in immigration enforcement” in a press release. Sheriff Manuel Trevino continued to encourage the community regardless of immigration status to report crimes as they see them.

The City of Harlingen, meanwhile, responded to the appearance of a Harlingen police officer at a scene alongside ICE agents, clarifying the officer was there for the “safety of the neighborhood.” They continued to state that the HPD does not engage with immigration enforcement or work on operations “in collaboration with ICE.”

The Rio Grande City Grulla Independent School District published a press release stating that district officials, “have not been contacted by any immigration agency and are not aware of any immigration enforcement actions at its schools.” The district added that they are fully committed to the safety and education of all students within the district.

More locally, Luis Gonzales, Director of Public Relations at San Benito Consolidated Independent School District, said the district would follow their standard procedure as listed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act [FERPA.] According to the Bureau of Justice Assistance website, FERPA is a “Federal Law that protects the privacy of student educational records.” The website explained that schools can only disclose “personally identifiable information” [PII] from the students’ records to law enforcement if the parent or an eligible student over 18 provided prior written consent.

The only exceptions to this rule are for “law enforcement unit” [LEU] records, which are records made by an LEU for law enforcement purposes, a health or safety emergency, or to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.

Meanwhile, Alice ISD distributed a letter to parents on Wednesday, notifying them that ICE may board busses at checkpoints and that the district may look to provide chaperones on those trips for such circumstances.

According to the official social media page for ICE, the first week of the Trump administration saw 3,200 illegal alien arrests and 7,300 deportations and removals. They reported that ICE arrests have tripled compared to the Biden administration and saw an average of 3,560 fewer aliens entering the country per day within the same time frame.