New York Congresswoman Grace Meng and other local and state elected officials are “seeking answers” after at least one official from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was denied entry to an elementary school in Queens, New York, where they claim they were looking for information about a fourth grader. According to USCIS, the official was there on an "administrative inquiry pertaining to an immigration benefit request," and USCIS claims that they did not ask to speak directly with the child. Still, “a school safety agent and administrator turned the agent away,” according to Mic:
"All students, regardless of immigration status, are welcome in NYC public schools, and parents should rest assured that we will do everything in our power to protect students, staff and families," chancellor Carmen Fariña said in a statement, according to Gothamist. "The federal agent was turned away — we're looking into this incident and are providing schools with additional information on our protocol and more trainings."
The school's refusal to cooperate with the agent is in line with the New York City Department of Education's policy on federal immigration agents. As stated on their website, the city's DOE "does not consent to non-local law enforcement accessing school facilities in any circumstances, and principals and other school personnel may not give consent."
Initial reporting about this incident at first seemed to misidentify the official as an agent from ICE, which is the DHS agency charged with immigration enforcement. USCIS oversees things like naturalization petitions and other immigration services. Regardless, there’s a question of why any official from an immigration agency—according to more recent reports, there were two officials—would go to a sensitive location like a school in the first place, when so many immigrant communities are living in fear due to Donald Trump’s deportation force. Just look at one recent incident in New Mexico, where 2,000 frightened children skipped school following a nearby immigration raid.
“As a mother, I am deeply troubled and horrified at this attempt on the part of federal immigration agents to reach any child in our schools,” said Melinda Katz, Queens Borough President, about the USCIS incident. “P.S. 58 officials did the right thing by following proper protocols of the city administration, stopping the agents at the door and protecting their students.” Congresswoman Meng added: “This incident raises many questions and we will certainly be seeking answers in the coming days. Our schools must be a safe and welcoming environment for all students, regardless of their immigration status or the status of their families.”
According to his office, Mayor Bill de Blasio has a meeting with DHS Sec. John Kelly about the incident today.