Tucson Unified School District officials last week updated the public on immigration enforcement guidelines, emphasizing that all students and their families are welcome on campus regardless of immigration status.

The update follows the detention of two individuals by Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside Drachman Elementary School earlier this month, an incident that prompted concern from educators and families across the district.

“We do not enforce or collect immigration documentation on any of our parents as they bring students to our schools, or as they join us celebrating the achievements of their students,” Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo told governing board members during the Feb. 10 meeting, adding that law enforcement officers are expected to identify themselves and must have a warrant to enter district property.

However, Trujillo said the district’s assumptions about how federal officers would operate have shifted.

“We were assuming that we were going to be interacting with federal law enforcement officers that were going to be upholding the same standards of professionalism and transparency that we’ve always seen,” Trujillo said. “Identifying themselves, showing badges, presenting warrants, checking in at the front office. Sadly a year later, we’re no longer in that situation where we can make that assumption.”

As a result, the district has revised its guidance to principals.

“Any individual presenting themselves on our campus that is refusing to identify themselves, that have masks, that are refusing to provide a badge or give a name, no matter what uniform they have on, no matter what paper they’re waving around, they are, at that point, an unidentified intruder, and we have given the guidance and directive to principals … to lock the campus down,” he said.

The district has provided training for all principals and office staff and has asked schools to extend that training to the rest of their staff.

The training included guidance on distinguishing between administrative and judicial warrants, as well as role-playing scenarios involving ICE agents in school parking lots, on field trips or on buses.

“Our schools will continue to be a safe space and an Immigrant Enforcement Free zone for the students and families that we serve,” Trujillo said.

Earlier this month, members of the Teachers Education Association, which represents TUSD teachers, held a meeting to review actions educators have taken, efforts currently underway and future considerations based on direct communication with the district’s board.

President Jim Byrne expressed optimism about collaborating with the district’s governing board.

“It was a good first conversation,” he said during the Feb. 5 meeting. “The moment is now to get things done and get ourselves moving.”

The union, alongside representatives of TUSD’s Mexican American Support Services, pushed to make sure the district’s resource list is up to date with accessible support services for families.

Beyond updating resources, Byrne said the focus now is on preparation, telling attendees that training staff on the district’s policies and procedures remains the priority.

“We consider this phase one of making sure that every site administration team is training up their staff,” Byrne said.

Central to that effort are updated site plans for each campus that outline how schools would respond if ICE agents enter campus gates, buildings or offices and detail security protocols that align with district guidelines.

Byrne also hopes to connect with bus drivers and bus monitors about contingency plans for potential traffic stops.

He also introduced the idea of immigrant support teams on campus, reporting that more than 200 TEA members representing 50 schools within TUSD have expressed interest in starting a team on their campus.

There has been no update to educators’ requests at the governing board’s Jan. 27 special meeting for “No warrant, no entry” signage to be posted at school offices.

Dozens of educators wearing red packed the Jan. 27 special meeting, urging clearer protections against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the wake of the recent detention outside one of the district’s schools.

Teachers and support staff described fearful students, uncertain protocols and a growing demand for transparency as the district works to define how it will respond if federal agents come to campus.

For some educators, that uncertainty is already visible in classroom hallways and in the work students leave behind.

District speech therapist Gina Santos said the impact is visible in the halls of the middle school she supports.

“The main hallway is decorated with essays, drawings and poems. When you look at the mix of work, there are several drawings in red ink that read, ‘Stop ICE,’” Santos said. “One especially heartbreaking piece shows a figure shooting another figure, and it's entitled, ‘No More ICE.’ Another student wrote, ‘I dream of going everywhere with my mom and not being afraid of her being taken.’”

As Santos and other educators took turns speaking at the podium, fellow union members in the audience stood in support.

Santos, who also shared her own fears about family members being detained, asked for clarification on the district’s current policies and procedures regarding potential ICE interactions on school property.

“You have families who have fathers who are detained. You have families whose moms have been deported,” Santos said. “Yes, we have policies and procedures in place, but it seems that our admins are afraid to talk about it. Teachers that we talk to don't seem to really know what the planning procedures are.”

Eliseo Gomez, a science teacher at Pueblo High School, voiced similar concerns.

“(Students) are coming to us, the teachers and staff, to say, ‘So what are we going to do? So what's happening? What's the plan? What's in place?’ And currently, I can't tell them too much because from the district, there isn't too much that is in place,” he said.

Pueblo social studies teacher Victoria Bodanyi suggested the district post “No warrant, no entry” signs at school offices and offer hybrid or remote schooling options for students.

“You need to have a plan that's created with us,” Bodanyi said. “You aren't the ones who are going to get arrested when they start coming through those doors. We are. Listen to us. Please.”

Board members acknowledged the concerns and outlined steps the district is taking.

“My three kids now have copies of their passports and birth certificates in their backpacks,” said Dr. Ravi Shah. “I feel for all of our members in our community who are not just feeling targeted, but are targeted with accents originating from outside the U.S. who are undocumented and trying to be productive members of our community. Thank you for pushing our district to be better on this.”

Board member Sadie Shaw also weighed in, proposing a more structured response.

“I would like us to form a community task force to address the issues, things that we haven't done and things that we have, and things that we should have done so that we can get it right,” said Shaw, requesting that the district send “Know Your Rights” cards to all families in the district.

TUSD is in the process of printing 15,000 copies of the cards in English and Spanish that will be distributed to families this week.

Topacio “Topaz” Servellon is a reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact them at topacioserve@gmail.com.

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