Steve was quoted by the Miami Herald in Can Schools Turn Away ICE Officials? Agents Need Specific Warrant to Enter, Experts Say. Steve said that for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to enter schools and other sensitive locations, including hospitals and courthouses, agents need a judicial warrant: “That means a warrant issued by a judge, not an administrative warrant signed by an ICE official.” He explained, for example, that a judge might sign such a warrant for ICE agents to enter a school if a migrant student, staff member, or teacher is suspected of a crime. When asked whether school officials can turn away ICE agents, he said, “School officials can inform ICE agents that all agency inquiries must first be reviewed by the school district’s lawyers to make sure they comply with applicable privacy and other laws.” He noted that “[a]s a practical matter, ICE agents are unlikely to go to a school, for several reasons. First, obtaining a judicial warrant takes time. Second, ICE could get public blowback from arresting someone at a school.” (A recent highly publicized instance turned out to be Secret Service agents rather than ICE agents visiting an elementary school. A spokesperson said they were investigating threats against a government official.)
