What can CPS schools and parents do in the face of Donald Trump’s mass deportation threat?

With the threat by President Donald Trump’s administration to target Chicago for mass deportation, public school officials are telling parents without legal status that their children are safe from immigration agents inside their classrooms.

“Under no circumstance are we ever going to compromise our children — whether it is this issue around immigration or something else,” Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said. Students return to class Wednesday for the first time since Trump was inaugurated.

If federal officers show up at their school, principals have been told they should not let them engage with anyone, except on the rare occasion that they have a signed criminal arrest warrant, Martinez said. CPS does not allow immigration agents into schools without a warrant.

CPS also has three lawyers at the ready to review any warrants or other paperwork and to advise staff, Martinez said.

Whether federal agents are allowed in school is one of the big questions parents without legal status might have. Here are a few others:

Should I send my children to school?

There is no one way to answer this question, but officials stress that once they’re inside schools, students are safe.

Schools don’t ask for, and don’t know, the legal status of their students. As a result, there’s no possibility that they could or would provide a list of students to federal authorities.

“We'll never give them access to information,” Martinez said.

There is still a risk traveling to and from school. Community advocates stress that drivers should make sure law enforcement has no reason to stop them by keeping their cars in good repair and having all necessary stickers.

Teachers should be “very, very aware and be very empathetic of the fears that parents have,” Martinez said. They also should be understanding if parents do not feel comfortable sending their children to school, just as they should be understanding of other absent students, Martinez added. But he is not considering allowing them to switch to remote schooling, as many students fell behind during the pandemic’s virtual classes.

How should parents without legal status prepare for the possibility of deportation?

Parents should make sure their emergency contacts at their child’s school are up to date — and that the contacts are aware and that they will be available.

“Let’s say I get stopped and detained. Who will pick up my kids? Who can I trust with my kids? That is the biggest fear, what makes their stomach hurt,” said Any Huamani, who works for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and has been leading “Know Your Rights” sessions around the city.

In addition to that initial call, Huamani said parents really need to think through who is the right person to put in charge of their children in case they are detained for a period of time.

What should I tell my children about the deportation threat?

“You want to be able to tell them, ‘We’re going to do everything we can to keep you safe, but we want you to know, if we can’t be here, that so-and-so is going to take care of you, and they’re going to make sure that you and I can reunite at the soonest availability,’ ” said Rebecca Ford-Paz, clinical child psychologist and co-director of the Forensic Assessment for Immigration Relief Clinic at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

“So, we want to make sure that children already get that reassurance.”

That’s why the emergency plan should be in place before talking to children, she said.

Especially for older children, it is best for them to hear about it from parents first.

Ford-Paz also said it is important not to isolate.

“We want kids to continue to be able to go to school and play and see their friends and celebrate cultural tradition,” she said. “That is the kind of thing that promotes a sense of calm and peace and equilibrium, even in the face of chaos.”

While parents can do their part, schools also can help. Many schools have affinity groups for immigrants where children can go so they don’t feel so alone. Social workers can connect parents with other resources in the community.

Ford-Paz stressed that, like educators, health care providers don’t know and won’t divulge people’s legal status. While Trump may change this, for now, federal immigration agents cannot go into hospitals and clinics and arrest people without a criminal warrant.

Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter.