In his first week in office President Trump has already begun cracking down on immigration - rescinding the protected status of schools, churches, and courthouses from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In Paso Robles, resources are available to those immigrants who fear they might be deported.
Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Superintendent Jennifer Loftus explained that while schools are no longer "protected," ICE officers still need to present a federal judicial warrant before the school district would consent to disclose information about a student.
“We would not release information to those individuals unless they had a judicial warrant. And in the event that something like that happens, we will notify parents right away,” Loftus said. “There are lots of precautionary measures that have already been put in place in the district in order to protect our children.”
Loftus added that parents can prepare by providing their school district with current emergency contact information. That way, if an immigration official did come on campus seeking information about a student, the district could easily notify the student’s family.
The Paso Robles school district has held two informational forums to answer questions for immigrant families.
“We want to make sure that they know that school is a safe place,“ Loftus said, “We will keep them informed and let them know what their rights are.”
Angie Gonzales, Client Services Director for Lumina Alliance an organization that provides services for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence said they’ve noticed a decline in immigrants seeking support.
“We think it is the fear of deportation that's preventing people from coming to us and seeking the help that they need, which is really troubling for us because it means that survivors are feeling forced to stay in dangerous situations, potentially life-threatening situations.”
Gonzales said clients at Lumina Alliance are not required to disclose their immigration status to get help.
“We have a very strict confidentiality policy, which means that we're not reporting any personal information or immigration status,” Gonzales said, “Clients don't even have to share their name when they reach out to us if they don't want to.”
Lumina Alliance is located at 102 S. Vine Street, Suite C in Paso Robles. Their 24/7 crisis line is (805) 545-8888.
