Holding true to promises made by the new Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are ramping up across the city, leaving many students fearful for themselves, their families, or their friends. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Jones are proactively working to protect and support their students.
“Our security officers have already been briefed with CPS and went to a special meeting last week. We have our procedures down tight, and everybody understands that if someone comes to the building, they need to see me,” said Principal Kerry Dolan. “Unless they have a very clear federal warrant in their hand, they’re not entering the building.”
Equally important in the protection of students is a knowledge of the law, which Dolan hopes to address in partnership with law teachers Emlyn Ricketts and Laura Blackburn.
“The Legal Eagles are planning on doing a Know Your Rights Seminar with some immigration lawyers. I asked whether we could also do something like bystander intervention for staff and students who want to know how they can help support,” said Dolan. “It’ll be a tandem workshop so that students don’t feel like they have to self-identify in order to attend.”
In addition to the physical safety of students, administrators are also working to promote emotional well-being.
“Our students know that we have social-emotional supports in place with our counseling staff as well as our social workers,” said Dolan. “I also understand, though, that students may not want to self-identify. In that case, there are some resources that have been shared, particularly by the principal at Juarez, that we’re trying to disseminate.”
These resources include informative slide decks on administrative versus judicial warrants, general rights if approached by ICE, rights if approached by ICE in different settings, and more. Dolan also notes that there are ways for students to request help without self-identifying.
“If students feel like they need help, they can always come to us and tell us it’s not for them. No one’s going to be making any assumptions. If they don’t want to self-identify, they could still get support,” said Dolan.
Unfortunately, many undocumented students and students with undocumented families continue to feel large amounts of stress that school supports are unequipped to tackle.
“[I feel] more anxiety, sadness, and paranoia. [I am] constantly texting [my] parents to check on their status,” said an anonymous student.
One student from a predominately Mexican-American neighborhood sees visible changes in her community.
“[My church] had an event planned for Valentine’s Day, and they started talking about having security there. It was just so disheartening to see that they were taking all of these precautions that I’ve never had at church before,” said Emily Ramirez ‘25. “Seeing that made it real. I’m very aware of what’s going on, but it just set in.”
Still, nobody has lost hope.
“It’s really nice to see people uplift each other and say ‘us as a community can face it together’. I felt like that was really beautiful. We are empowering each other at the end of the day. We’re going to be okay,” said Ramirez.
For those not directly impacted by the new Trump administration immigration changes, Dolan shares ways to get involved.
“Attend the Legal Eagles Seminar and find out legally what [you] can do as a bystander. Seek out nonprofit organizations that are doing good work in the city and either donate their time or other resources to support the work that they’re doing,” said Dolan. “Beyond that, just be a vocal ally.”
During a time of great uncertainty, Jones administrators hope they can create a stabilizing and secure environment for all.
“I know that we have students and staff, whether they’re directly impacted or whether their close loved ones are impacted, who are fearful,” said Dolan. “The last thing I want is anybody coming into this building living in fear. Nobody should live in question of the security of their family.”