At least half a dozen Democratic senators, led by Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, are calling on the Department of Education to stop immigration raids near schools.
The letter, which was sent on Friday to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and obtained by NBC News, follows a series of classroom disruptions in the Chicago area linked to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
Though ICE is part of the Department of Homeland Security, the senators are appealing directly to McMahon, asking her to pressure Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to rein in what they call reckless and dangerous tactics.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois
“Federal agents continue to use unwarranted, excessive levels of force around Chicago, demonstrating an alarming lack of care or regard for the health and wellbeing of children, particularly by conducting unfocused, inflammatory operations within close proximity of school grounds,” the letter said. “We demand you pressure your colleague, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, to reinstate restrictions on Federal immigration enforcement operations in and around places of education.”
They also called for “common sense” limits on immigration policing near schools.
“If society can agree that alcohol, tobacco and drugs should be kept at least 1,000 feet away from our schools, surely we can agree that tear gas—a chemical weapon which causes burning, pain, skin inflammation and respiratory distress—and other violent DHS tools and tactics also belong on that list,” they wrote.
Other Democratic signatories include Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts.
The plea comes months after President Donald Trump scrapped a Biden-era policy that barred ICE raids in “sensitive” locations such as schools, hospitals, and churches.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” a DHS statement at the time, claiming that the move would restore a “case-by-case” approach.
Immigration agents arrest someone in Chicago on Oct. 14
Since then, Chicago has emerged as a flashpoint in Trump’s immigration push. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, ICE officers briefly detained a 16-year-old U.S. citizen near his school. NBC also detailed scenes where tear gas drifted across playgrounds, sending children running indoors as teachers tried to calm frightened classrooms.
That fear isn’t hard to understand. Some ICE officers wear plain clothes and minimal identification, though they’re supposed to identify themselves during arrests. Others arrive in full military-style gear.
But these heavy-handed tactics aren’t limited to Illinois. In California, DHS said it would not comply with a new state law prohibiting law enforcement from covering their faces during operations.
And nationwide, the toll is mounting. During the first nine months of Trump’s second term, ProPublica documented more than 170 incidents of ICE agents detaining U.S. citizens against their will—including nearly 20 children, two of whom were battling cancer. In one case, four children were held for weeks with their undocumented mother and denied access to an attorney until a member of Congress intervened.
Related | Democrats want ICE to chill the f-ck out
When asked whether DHS would reconsider its proximity to schools, spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin dismissed the idea.
“Why was the tear gas deployed? Because of violent rioters,” she said in an email to NBC. “This is not that hard.”
Meanwhile, educators are trying to shield students from the fallout. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten recently traveled to Chicago to meet with union members about how to protect classrooms from the chaos.
“School should be an ICE-free zone, just like it’s a gun-free zone and a drug-free zone,” Weingarten said.
In Chicago, immigration agents are already banned from entering city schools or conducting enforcement on city-owned property. But teachers have seen the anxiety seeping into daily life anyway.
Democrats say that’s the inevitable result of Trump’s policy. His immigration agenda has become so cruel that even children are caught in the crossfire.
