Maine law firm tells schools to 'destroy' student records that reveal immigration status

In a "Client Alert" sent out the day after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, a progressive Maine law firm told public school officials about steps they can take to resist the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, including destroying student records that may expose immigration status.

The advisory email from the Portland-based Drummond Woodsum law firm, obtained by the Maine Wire, stated, "The Trump administration has pledged to conduct large-scale immigration enforcement actions targeting undocumented immigrants, which may have ramifications for schools. While the situation remains dynamic and subject to change, we understand that our clients are seeking information now and therefore we will address some specific issues below based on the current legal landscape."

The advisory noted that "historically, immigration enforcement actions have not been conducted on school premises" under "sensitive location" policies issued by Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement "unless there are exigent circumstances or prior supervisory approval," with schools being among these locations.

"However, the Trump administration has suggested it will repeal and/or disregard that policy. In light of this, school officials should generate a plan for what to do if immigration officials seek to conduct activities at school, and provide appropriate training to those who may come into contact with the officials."

The Department of Homeland Security has since reversed these guidelines, saying that "This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country."

The advisory stated that if immigration officials request access to information about students, "school officials should be mindful of their obligations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)," under which schools "are not allowed to share personally identifiable information about a student unless a parent consents or under certain exceptions not applicable here." The act allows schools to share directory information like student names "under certain circumstances," but schools are "not obligated to share the information."

The law firm stated that a "simple measure’ to combat this "would be to limit the type of information that schools retain," including refraining from asking about immigration status of students or their parents or guardians "for any reason." If some information, including a student’s place of birth, US entry date, and the date the student started with the school, were collected, "this information should not be stored as part of a student’s education record and should be destroyed as soon as it is no longer needed."

Shortly after Trump was sworn in, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove issued a memo stating that "The Supremacy Clause and other authorities require state and local actors to comply with the Executive Branch’s immigration enforcement initiatives. Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests."

It warned that "litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution, including for obstructing federal functions" in violation of the law.