South Brunswick Schools Prepared For Potential ICE Raids, Superintendent Says

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — As immigration crackdown continues across the country following President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, several New Jersey residents could be affected.

The Trump administration announced it would allow federal immigration agencies to make arrests at schools, churches, and hospitals, ending a policy that had been in effect since 2011.

Earlier, New Jersey officials shared ways schools can keep immigrant students and families safe.

In South Brunswick, Superintendent Scott Feder assured the community that the district had a protocol and plan in place in case Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents do come to the school district.

Feder's comments came during last week’s Board of Education meeting after he received queries from concerned residents. The Superintendent told the community that he did not expect ICE agents to come knocking on school doors, but in the eventuality, the district was prepared.

“I know it's on some people's minds because I've been getting emails and texts about it,” Feder said. “As far as getting raided for immigration status, I'm not expecting it, but we will be prepared and know the law and know the rules on how we manage, and that's what I can tell the community.”

Feder said that neither he nor the BOE will be taking any political stance, but will do everything to protect students and provide them with a safe learning environment.

“It's not appropriate for us not to be prepared for whatever could happen in our schools, to our families and our students,” Feder said.

“I will share with you what the realities are, what we deal with. And at this point, there's a lot of hypotheticals going around. But I can tell you one thing — we will take care of this district. That's what we do.”

BOE member Lisa Rodgers then asked Feder to explain a little on what the district will be doing. To which Feder replied that administrators will be “following the law.”

“Whatever the law is for the state of New Jersey... So, if a police officer came separate from anything to do with immigration and presented a subpoena to the district, we would comply with the subpoena. If we had concerns about the legality of the subpoena, we would contact our attorney. If an immigration officer showed up and presented papers that were legally binding, we would either comply or if we felt there was a reason not to comply, we would call our attorney,” Feder explained.

The school district will be sharing more information with families in the coming days.

An estimated 733,000 school-aged children are in the U.S. illegally, including 31,000 in New Jersey, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Many more have U.S. citizenship but have parents who are undocumented.

The NJ Department of Education added a page to its website with suggested protocols for schools if an ICE agent seeks to come onto school grounds or access school records. This includes getting the agent's information and any documents that authorize them access to the school, and immediately contacting the superintendent.

Schools are also not required to share information about students' attendance or location without consulting with the superintendent or district legal council.

All local school districts in New Jersey must enroll students regardless of their immigration status, per state and federal regulations, and the Department of Education encourages districts to have systems of support in place for students and families.

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