Karina, who asked to be identified only by her first name, is seeking asylum and said she and many people in the immigrant community are deeply worried about new federal immigration policies. Even so, she still feels safe sending her children to Portland schools. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald
Karina came to Portland seven years ago to seek asylum from her home country of El Salvador.
She has two children and a younger sister enrolled in the city’s school district and has felt safe there.
Then President Donald Trump issued a flurry of new immigration policies.
“The outgoing president was more agreeable toward immigrants. This president has brought more fear,” Karina said in an interview Thursday, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter. She asked to be identified only by her first name out of fears for her safety ahead of her asylum hearing next week.
Since his inauguration Monday, Trump has issued several executive orders and policy changes that target new immigration, people who have already immigrated to the U.S., and those who were born here and given citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
The president also changed the federal policy around schools, churches and hospitals, which were previously spaces where immigration officers were not allowed to carry out enforcement. A statement Tuesday from the Department of Homeland Security said customs and border patrol officers will now be allowed to enter those “so-called ‘sensitive’ areas.”
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” it said. “The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
That policy is making some Portland immigrant parents like Karina nervous. Her oldest daughter was born outside of the U.S. and could be deported if Karina’s asylum claim is denied. Her youngest, just 4 years old, was born in the country and is therefore a U.S. citizen, although one of Trump’s executive orders targets that status. That order was quickly challenged in court and temporarily blocked by a judge Thursday.
Around the country, immigrant families are weighing whether to keep their children out of school to protect them from potential immigration enforcement. Karina said she’s nervous, but she isn’t considering that option.
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” Karina said. “They need to get an education, that’s really important.”
Karina said she is regularly in touch with her children’s teachers and administrators, and that she trusts them with her kids. She has discussed the safety and protection of her children with them, although she didn’t share details about her immigration status.
“The teachers are very attentive, they are always watching my kids,” she said.
PORTLAND’S ‘SAFE HAVEN’
In March 2017, less than two months after Trump took office for his first term, the Portland school board took up a resolution committing to providing a safe education for immigrant students.
Then-board member Jenna Vindel introduced the item, and said the purpose of the resolution was to affirm the Supreme Court’s 1982 ruling in Plyler v. Doe, which said states cannot deny public education to students on the basis of their immigration status.
“Given some of the fears that I’ve heard from our immigrant and refugee communities about the uncertainty of what will happen to their parents or relatives that they know, this is intended to be a strong statement to ensure that we as a district are following the intent of Plyler v. Doe, that we have outlined guidelines for staff to follow in how to work with students and families in understanding this information,” Vindel said at the time.
Portland Public Schools Board of Education Chair Sarah Lentz and Superintendent Ryan Scallon at the board’s Oct. 15, 2024, meeting at Casco Bay High School. Riley Board/Portland Press Herald
The board passed the resolution unanimously. It says the district will be “a safe haven for students and families threatened by immigration enforcement” and will not not disclose any information about a student or their immigration status to enforcement officers without a court order.
Portland already had seen growth in its immigrant and refugee student populations and that has continued to rise. Between the 2021-22 school year and the 2022-23 year, the number of non-English-speaking students enrolled in the district doubled amid a wave of asylum seekers arriving in Maine. That year the district enrolled an additional 800 multilingual learner students, growing to more than 25% of the student body. Now, they make up 30% of Portland students, according to district data.
After Trump was reelected in November, current school board Chair Sarah Lentz said that it felt important to reaffirm the district’s commitment to the safety of immigrant, refugee and undocumented students and families.
“We are committed to protecting all our students’ right to education. Schools are dedicated spaces for learning, support, and community — not places for immigration enforcement activities,” the district wrote in a Nov. 6 newsletter.
Lentz said the resolution provides guidance. In practice, that looks like making safe environments for students without hate or harassment, and protecting student information and data from immigration enforcement officers. Lentz was not aware of any instances in the past when immigration enforcement has asked Portland schools for families’ information.
WHAT NOW?
Molly Curren Rowles, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, said schools are still obligated to continue offering education to all students regardless of immigration status. But with new federal policies creating a chilling effect for immigrant families, she said, school districts should look to create clear procedures for dealing with immigration enforcement, so that teachers and administrators don’t feel like they need to make complicated decisions about status.
Molly Curren Rowles, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald
“It is really important to try to create structure so that there’s as much protection as possible for people’s sense of trust and sense of safety in these institutions that they need to access,” she said in an interview Friday.
A few Maine districts already have. Brunswick Superintendent Phillip Potenziano said in a message to families this week that the district would not allow immigration officers into schools without a valid warrant, and expressed disappointment about the new federal policy.
“As educators, we are steadfastly committed to nurturing, teaching and supporting all of our students, regardless of their lived experiences,” Potenziano wrote. “Schools have long been sanctuaries — protected spaces where students can grow, learn, thrive and belong.”
In emails circulated to staff and parents Friday, Lewiston Public Schools Superintendent Jake Langlais told teachers and administrators that the district would not share protected student information with immigration enforcement officers, but listed protocols for interacting with agents, like asking them for identification and warrants and keeping notes on the interaction.
In an announcement to families, the district shared tips for dealing with immigration officers, the right to remain silent and not letting agents enter a home without a warrant.
Lentz, the Portland school board chair, said the change in the federal policy would not impact the way the district carries out its policies around sharing student records and information. A school district spokesperson did not respond to questions Friday about whether it was planning to make an announcement to families.
Curren Rowles said there’s evidence across the country that these new policies impact people’s sense of safety in a way that limits their choices, affecting things like school attendance.
“All of these are places that people have historically needed to access in order to be healthy, in order to get the education that they’re entitled to,” Curren Rowles said Friday. “And so it is really a shift to see them be targeted specifically, and we know that there will be public health implications, there will be educational implications, if people don’t feel that they’re safe.”
And she said that doesn’t just apply to undocumented immigrants. Even people who are documented, refugees or citizens are concerned about their safety amid rapidly changing immigration rules.
Like Karina, who is nervous about her approaching asylum hearing court date. She’s also worried that immigrants won’t feel safe going to school or using hospitals, that some may even die because they’re too afraid to show their documents to get emergency health care.
Karina, who asked not to share her last name, at Presente! Maine’s office in Portland on Thursday. Karina is seeking asylum in Maine and is nervous about her approaching asylum hearing court date. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald
But she said overall, Portland and Portland schools feel like a safe place to be right now.
“I am filled with fear,” Karina said about her court date. “I am afraid they will reject me, but even if I don’t get approved, I hope it will work out one way or another.”
Staff Writer Grace Benninghoff helped translate for this story.