OISD Watching Immigration Action
Despite concerns about recent deportation actions targeting immigrants, Olney school officials say they have seen no impact on student attendance or fear among students. Non-citizen students in the district whose parents are legally authorized to work at local employers continue to advance in their English skills and academic progress, they said.
Olney Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Greg Roach said the district serves approximately 95 bilingual students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, including a group of Venezuelan students. He emphasized that our Venezuelan students are here legally with their families.
“Their parents have followed the rules and gone through the process to work here,” Dr. Roach said. “I do know they are doing all of this the right way.”
OISD’s Emergent Bilingual Coordinator Alyssa Betts confirmed that the district has not experienced attendance issues or student withdrawals due to immigration enforcement.
“We have seen a slight dip in numbers, but that has been a result of families moving for various reasons, whether familyrelated or job-related,” Betts said.
She added that the district is currently administering the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) to measure the progress of its Emergent Bilingual students in acquiring English skills.
The discussion around immigration enforcement comes after President Donald Trump last week ordered the removal of Venezuelan men allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua, a notorious prison gang. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has labeled the group a “foreign terrorist organization,” citing its involvement in drug trafficking, human smuggling, kidnapping, extortion, and illegal mining.
While the Trump administration says it is prioritizing the deportation of immigrants with criminal records, data from the Migration Policy Institute at New York University School of Law suggests that only 29 percent of individuals in ICE detention as of mid-February had prior convictions.
“Enforcement is now random; everyone is subject to enforcement action,” said Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute, in an interview with the Texas Tribune. “You can imagine the fear it instills … everyone is game.”
In January, Democratic state lawmakers asked the Texas Education Agency to clarify how school districts should respond to federal immigration enforcement following Trump’s rescission of the “protected areas” policy, which had previously restricted ICE arrests at schools.
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus urged the agency to provide “clear and detailed guidance” to local districts on how to prepare for possible enforcement actions on school grounds.
Olney school officials say they are closely monitoring these developments.
“Dr. Roach has done a fabulous job of making sure our administration stays up to date on expectations and procedures,” Mrs. Betts said. “Our ultimate goal is to make sure our students know that our job at school is to keep them safe and provide them with the best education possible.”