Letter to School Board Members in Orange, Osceola, and Polk Counties in Florida - Clarify School Policy to Ensure School Personnel Refrain from Immigration Status Inquiries of Students

Letter

Re: Request That Local School Personnel Not Make Immigration Status Inquiries

Dear School Board Member Joie Cadle, I am writing to urge you to clarify school policy to ensure local school personnel refrain from immigration status inquiries of our students.

On February 21, 2017, I held an Emergency Immigration Roundtable and was informed therein that students in Auburndale, Florida had been questioned by local school administrators about their immigration status. Given the recent executive action and heated rhetoric on immigration, these unauthorized inquiries are deeply troubling to me and our constituents.

My first concern is that these interrogations are not supported by proper authority under law. Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, while our schools' primary purpose is to educate our students. Engaging in unauthorized immigration inquiries can be distracting from your overall mission to provide a world class education to our children and could also open our school districts to potential legal liability for discriminatory practices.

My second concern is that these types of inquiries will subject our students to unnecessary harassment and embarrassment. In the Auburndale incident, the affected student that I met with is a U.S. citizen of Hispanic descent. She was interrogated about her status and the status of her parents in front of her classmates. This was an isolating and humiliating experience that we must avoid going forward.

My third concern is that local deportation efforts will divide our community and erode trust in public education. Immigration is a controversial issue that will only breed division among our local families and could foster intimidation of minority communities. It is critical that our schools maintain trust relationships with parents and students to ensure our young people attend school and educate themselves.

Ultimately, it is in the best interest of our community to ensure our schools are safe places of learning rather than a battleground for immigration policy enforcement. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,

Darren Soto, Member of Congress

This letter was sent to:

Joie Cadle - Orange County School Board Member
Daryl Flynn - Orange County School Board Member
Linda Kobert - Orange County School Board Member
Pam Gould - Orange County School Board Member
Kathleen Gordon - Orange County School Board Member
Nancy Robbinson - Orange County School Board Member
Christine Moore - Orange County School Board Member
Bill Subletter - Orange County School Board Member
Fred Hawkins - Osceola County School Board Member
Jay Wheeler - Osceola County School Board Member
Kelvin Soto - Osceola County School Board Member
Tim Weisheyer - Osceola County School Board Member
Clarence Thacker - Osceola County School Board Member
Ricky Booth - Osceola County School Board Member
Dr. Debrah Pace - Osceola County School Board Member
William Townsend - Polk County School Board Member
Lori Cunningham - Polk County School Board Member
Hazel Sellers - Polk County School Board Member
Sara Reynolds - Polk County School Board Member
Kay Fields - Polk County School Board Member
Lynn Wilson - Polk County School Board Member
Tim Harris - Polk County School Board Member

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