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A federal judge on Friday rejected Denver Public Schools’ attempt to reinstate a federal policy that treated schools as “sensitive locations” where immigration enforcement should only take place if there is immediate danger to the public.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico said there is little practical difference between the prior policy, the last iteration of which was issued in 2021 under former President Biden, and a pair of memos issued by the Trump administration in January.
“The concern was that there would be no limitations or no protections for schools, necessarily, under the new memo,” Domenico said in a ruling from the bench. “That is an overstatement. And the fact that there have been no actions on school property in the time since the memo was released here, or as far as we know anywhere else, highlights that fact.”
Neither the old nor the new policy completely bans immigration enforcement actions at schools and other sensitive locations. The 2021 policy allowed such actions “either with prior higher-level approval or under exigent circumstances.” The new guidance from the Trump administration instructs ICE agents to use discretion “and a healthy dose of common sense.”
Denver Public Schools sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Feb. 12 and requested a preliminary injunction that would have voided the Trump policy in favor of the previous iteration while the legal case proceeds. A week earlier, on Feb. 5, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had raided apartment complexes in Denver and Aurora where some students lived, which the district said caused drops in attendance and widespread fear.
But Domenico said it’s uncertain whether reverting to the 2021 policy would have prevented the ICE raid at Denver’s Cedar Run apartment complex, which is located near several schools.
“I do understand that attendance is down from last year, particularly in schools with high populations of immigrant families,” Domenico said, referencing one of the main arguments that Denver Public Schools made in its lawsuit. “Teachers and administrators are having to spend some portion of their time responding to these concerns.”
But Domenico said Denver Public Schools failed to show how much, if any, of that impact was caused by the Trump administration’s guidance “as opposed to broader concerns about increased immigration enforcement.”
Domenico was nominated to the court by Trump during his first term as president. Born and raised in Boulder, Domenico said Friday that his mother was a teacher who taught English as a second language to immigrant students and that he understands that “it’s a hard thing to run a school.”
“I do not think DPS has met its high burden in this case,” Domenico said.
Domenico’s ruling on the preliminary injunction allows the Trump administration’s guidance to stand while the legal case continues.
In a statement after the ruling, Denver Public Schools said that, “While we are disappointed in the judge’s ruling, it is important to note that he acknowledged the real damages public schools have suffered.
“He also acknowledged that there are no fundamental differences between the 2021 and 2025 policy, which had not been known prior to our court ruling.”
Shortly after Trump took office in January, his administration abolished a decades-old policy that treated schools, child care centers, churches, and hospitals as sensitive locations where immigration enforcement should only take place if there is immediate danger to the public.
Denver Public Schools’ lawsuit argued that student attendance has “decreased noticeably” since the sensitive locations policy was rescinded. Student attendance was down 3% this February compared to last February, with drops of up to 4.7% at schools that serve many new immigrant students, according to a subsequent motion the district filed last week.
The district also argued it has been “forced to divert resources from its educational mission” to prepare for potential immigration arrests at schools.
“In addition, teachers are spending time (a precious resource) responding to fears about the 2025 Policy instead of educating students,” said the district’s most recent motion.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded in a motion of its own by saying there have been no immigration raids at schools since the policy was rescinded, and that the prospect of such enforcement has not caused sufficient harm to the district.
The department argued that the drops in Denver’s student attendance were caused by fear and false reports of ICE raids, not the changing guidance. The department also said Denver Public Schools misunderstood the policy it’s seeking to reinstate.
Lawyers from Denver Public Schools and lawyers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security each had 30 minutes to make their case at Friday’s hearing as Domenico peppered them with questions.
Domenico repeatedly asked attorneys for Denver Public Schools what would change if he ruled in their favor and reinstated the 2021 memo. He said there hasn’t been “a single instance” of the Trump administration’s policy “resulting in someone doing something that wouldn’t have happened under the prior policy.”
Claire Mueller, an outside attorney representing the school district in this case, argued that the previous policy provided a level of certainty that the new policy does not. DPS knew immigration agents could only show up to schools under certain circumstances, which she said “gave the organization and its community a certain level of security.”
Denver Public Schools serves about 90,000 students, about 52% of whom are Latino. Starting in late 2022, the city of Denver saw an influx of migrants from Venezuela and other countries, and the school district had enrolled about 4,000 new immigrant students by the end of last year. About 80% of those students were still enrolled this fall, according to district data.
A federal judge in Maryland temporarily reinstated the sensitive locations policy with regard to churches and other houses of worship, in response to a lawsuit brought by several religious organizations. But the Feb. 24 ruling didn’t extend to schools.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
Melanie Asmar 2025-03-08 00:04:57
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