New York Elected Officials and Puerto Rico Advocates Hold Emergency Press Conference at SOMOS Puerto Rico. Fuera ICE de las escuelas, fuera ICE de Puerto Rico / ICE out of our schools, ICE out of Puerto Rico
One day after the Puerto Rico Senate approved a weakened student protection bill, and following weeks of escalating ICE raids across the island, New York leaders stand with Puerto Rican and Dominican advocates to defend every child's right to learn safely
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SAN JUAN, P.R.–New York State elected officials, Puerto Rican and Dominican community leaders, and immigrant rights advocates gathered tonight at the Caribe Hilton during the SOMOS Puerto Rico conference to demand that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stay out of Puerto Rico's schools and end its escalating enforcement operations across the island. The emergency press conference came one day after the Puerto Rico Senate approved P. del S. 1062, a bill advocates warn no longer delivers the protections it originally promised immigrant students.
1. del S. 1062 was introduced to guarantee immigrant students access to public education regardless of immigration status and to protect the confidentiality of their personal information. But amendments added in the Senate's Government and Education committees drew sharp warnings from civil rights advocates, including the ACLU of Puerto Rico. Advocates warn the amended bill would treat administrative immigration warrants issued by ICE or DHS as equivalent to judicial warrants signed by a judge, remove the requirement that schools obtain legal advice before disclosing student data, and bar school safeguards such as notifying parents or consulting the Department of Justice from delaying federal agents in any way. Taken together, advocates say these changes would leave the bill weaker than the Department of Education's own existing protocol, which requires a judicial warrant signed by a judge before immigration agents can intervene with students. The bill now moves to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives.
The Senate vote comes amid a sharp escalation of ICE activity in Puerto Rico. From October 22 to 25, federal immigration agents carried out raids in Barrio Obrero and Villa Palmeras in Santurce and in Río Piedras, including an operation at the San Antonio de Padua church, and pursued immigrants as far as a business in Canóvanas. Families across the island, particularly in the Dominican community, report fear of taking their children to school, seeking medical care, or attending church. Earlier, Puerto Rico's Department of Transportation and Public Works shared the personal information of more than 6,000 immigrants with federal authorities without a court order, according to the ACLU of Puerto Rico.
Speakers called on the Puerto Rico House of Representatives to reject P. del S. 1062 in its amended form and restore the protections that motivated the bill: a clear requirement for a judicial warrant signed by a judge before any immigration intervention in a school, mandatory legal review before any student or family data is disclosed, and safeguards for children that school staff can actually enforce. They also called on the Government of Puerto Rico to stop sharing residents' personal information with immigration authorities without a court order.
"Fuera ICE de las escuelas, fuera ICE de Puerto Rico" was the message from New York and Puerto Rico alike: no child should have to choose between their education and their safety.
“We have seen firsthand the devastation ICE causes in NYC—bullets fired in our streets, family members disappeared, parents abducted, and the life of a five-year-old child placed into danger. We have a responsibility to protect our children, which is why I stand in vehement opposition to the amendments put forward for Senate Bill 1062. We will not stay silent while our Puerto Rican neighbors, who are so often treated as second class citizens, are targeted,” said NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“We send our children to school to learn, to play with their friends, and to dream about who they may one day become,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “ICE has no place in our children’s schools. Not in New York, and not in Puerto Rico. I stand proudly with my partners in advocacy and government in our commitment to protecting our children and keeping schools safe,” said New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
“We stand with the people of Puerto Rico in calling on the House to restore full protections for immigrant students. Access to equitable education for all children must be protected and enforced regardless of their status. No child should have to be afraid to receive an education or walk into their classroom. At a time where we are facing unprecedented levels of attacks on everything from literacy to existence, it is our duty to stand up for our collective rights and that of our neighbors. SOMOS came to Puerto Rico to celebrate our shared community, and we cannot stay silent while immigrant families here are living in fear of raids at their schools, churches, and homes. Fuera ICE de las escuelas, fuera ICE de Puerto Rico,” said Assemblymember Karines Reyes, Chair of Somos
"I was born in Puerto Rico, and I've spent years as a public school parent in Brooklyn, so I know that a school should be the safest place in a child's day. In New York, we have fought to keep ICE out of our classrooms, and Puerto Rico's children deserve nothing less. The raids tearing through Santurce and Río Piedras are terrorizing families, and the Puerto Rico House must restore every protection these students were promised. Fuera ICE de las escuelas, fuera ICE de Puerto Rico,” said Council Member Alexa Avilés.
"Schools must be places of learning, safety and opportunity - not places where children or their families fear immigration enforcement," said New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Faiza N. Ali. "We oppose Senate Bill 1062 in its amended form, which would weaken important safeguards and compromise students' privacy and safety. I stand with Puerto Rico's immigrant communities and everyone working to protect schools as safe spaces for every child."
“Safe and free access to an education is a bedrock of any healthy society. From New York to Puerto Rico, no parent should ever fear that sending their kids to school could lead to their family being separated. Masked, unaccountable ICE agents should not have free reign to terrorize the communities of Puerto Rico – and they must certainly not be able to enter a place of learning, without a judicial warrant, to interrogate children. We stand with our siblings in Puerto Rico, and condemn in the strongest terms possible any legislation that would give ICE unchecked access to their schools. ICE out of Puerto Rico, ICE out of New York, ICE out of everywhere,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition.
“As a daughter of an immigrant and a proud Puerto Rican, this fight is deeply personal to me. My Puerto Rican roots are part of who I am, and the people of Puerto Rico are part of my family and my community. I cannot stand by while our immigrant families are targeted, our children are made to feel unsafe, and our communities are forced to live in fear. Our schools should be places where children can learn, grow, and dream, not places where they worry about their parents being taken away. No parent should have to choose between showing up for their child and protecting their family from immigration enforcement. Today, I stand with the people of Puerto Rico, with immigrant families across New York, and with everyone demanding that our communities be treated with dignity and respect. Our children deserve safe schools. Our families deserve to stay together. And Puerto Rico deserves to live free from ICE intimidation. ICE out of our schools. ICE out of Puerto Rico,” said Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas.
“The Puerto Rico Senate’s decision to weaken protections for immigrant students is unconscionable. Schools should be safe places where children can learn and grow. Opening the door to ICE enforcement in classrooms would sow fear, disrupt learning, and traumatize the very children we have a responsibility to protect. I stand with my colleagues and Puerto Rican and Dominican advocates in calling on the Puerto Rico House of Representatives to reject this bill in its amended form and restore meaningful protections for students and their families, including requiring a judicial warrant signed by a judge and legal review before disclosing personal information. From Puerto Rico to New York City, every child deserves an education free from fear. ICE out of our schools. ICE out of Puerto Rico,” said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
“ICE has terrorized our communities for years, tearing families apart, brutalizing parents in front of their kids, and murdering people protecting their neighbors in the streets. Puerto Ricans have faced centuries of colonization and oppression and ICE is just the latest force to invade our island. Boricuas know well what it means to be displaced. ICE has no place in Puerto Rico’s schools, or anywhere on la isla. FUERA ICE,” said NYC Council Member Tiffany Cabán.
"We have spent years building a sanctuary NYC and keeping ICE out of schools and hospitals and courts. It is horrific to hear of a pending bill in the PR legislature that puts all immigrants in danger in PR. This 1062 should not see the light of day,” said NYC Council Member Gale A Brewer.
“From New York to Puerto Rico, we have one message, abolish ICE and hold those who are violating the rights of immigrants accountable to the fullest extent. I stand in solidarity with Puerto Rican immigrant communities in opposition to the recent bill passed by the Puerto Rico Senate that will weaken protections for students,” said Assemblymember Tony Simone. “Today’s news that the architect of the horror that has been unleashed on our streets, Stephen Miller, has been put in charge of the administration proves that new Congress must use its power to its absolute limit and we must continue to organize and defend our communities on the ground,” said Assemblymember Tony Simone.
"I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and I am disgusted that elected officials on this island supported taking away the right of due process so ICE can interrogate children trying to learn. Tuesday was a resounding plea for help from Americans from New York to Puerto Rico that want the fascist violent attacks on our communities to end. We want ICE held accountable for their crimes, dismantled, and abolished. Puerto Rico's schools must remain safe places to learn, and I'm calling on the House to restore every protection these children were promised. Fuera ICE de las escuelas, fuera ICE de Puerto Rico," said Senator Gustavo Rivera.
"I represent one of the most diverse immigrant communities in the country, and I have seen what happens when families are too afraid to send their children to school: kids fall behind, and whole communities pull back. Puerto Rico's immigrant students deserve the same protections we fight for in New York. I urge the Puerto Rico House to restore every safeguard these children were promised," said Assemblymember Catalina Cruz.
“As a parent, I cannot imagine dropping off my child at school and coming back to find them disappeared by my own government. All parents and all Americans must stand in solidarity with Puerto Rican parents, who are facing this terror. ICE must be banned from schools, and ultimately abolished entirely,” said Assemblymember-elect David Siffert.
“Ningún niño o niña debería sentir miedo de que entrar a un salón de clases pueda exponerle, o exponer a su familia, a una intervención de las autoridades de inmigración. Convertir las escuelas en lugares donde ICE pueda tener un acceso más fácil a menores es cruel, peligroso y contrario a nuestra responsabilidad de proteger a la niñez. Housing Works se solidariza firmemente con las familias inmigrantes en Puerto Rico y exige que se rechacen las perjudiciales enmiendas al P. del S. 1062. Las escuelas deben proteger a nuestros niños y niñas, no facilitar su detención o deportación,” said Anthony Feliciano Vicepresidente de Incidencia Política (VP of Advocacy) Housing Works.
"As a New York based legal organization who serves tens of thousands of immigrants, ICE terrorizes our families and neighbors across the five boroughs fron Marble Hill to Elmhurst to Loisada--and also in our sister country of Puerto Rico," said Lisa Rivera, President & CEO of New York Legal Assistance Group. "ICE needs to get out of our schools, our streets, and our cities.”
“As a proud Puertorriqueña and educator, I know the responsibility and trust families place in our schools and community centers. The Senate amendments to P. del S. 1062 threaten these vital spaces and the well-being of our children. No child should have to worry about their safety when they should be focused on their education and future. As this bill moves to the House of Representatives, we urge our legislators to restore protections for communities and ensure that ICE stays out of our schools and community spaces,” said Amy Latorres, Director of Education and Career Services at the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC).