This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters.
A federal judge on Friday rejected Denver Public Schools’ attempt to reinstate a federal policy that treated schools as “sensitive locations” where immigration enforcement should only take place if there is immediate danger to the public.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico said there is little practical difference between the prior policy, the last iteration of which was issued in 2021 under former President Biden, and a pair of memos issued by the Trump administration in January.
“The concern was that there would be no limitations or no protections for schools, necessarily, under the new memo,” Domenico said in a ruling from the bench. “That is an overstatement. And the fact that there have been no actions on school property in the time since the memo was released here, or as far as we know anywhere else, highlights that fact.”
Neither the old nor the new policy completely bans immigration enforcement actions at schools and other sensitive locations. The 2021 policy allowed such actions “either with prior higher-level approval or under exigent circumstances.” The new guidance from the Trump administration instructs ICE agents to use discretion “and a healthy dose of common sense.”