Resources for Educators Pertaining to Immigrant Students, Families, and Preparation for Response
Last week brought distress to many people in our field for many reasons. Districts are concerned about legal issues related to immigration enforcement and protecting students’ rights. Parents are concerned about what would happen if they were caught in a raid. We as educators have to manage all of these concerns as well as teach our students. Here are some resources to assist you as you support your students and their families.
The NJ Department of Education has shared a comprehensive webpage regarding School-Related State and Federal Requirements Pertaining to Immigrant Students and Families. These resources include information on School Protocols for Immigration Enforcement, Federal and State Requirements, Considerations, and Deportation-Related Trauma.
Groups like Make the Road New Jersey, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, NEA, and others have shared resources for families so that they can be prepared for possible events. The most significant of these are the EMERGENCY PLANNING IN CASE OF THE DETENTION OR DEPORTATION OF PARENTS document from Rutgers Law School and the Family Preparedness Plan from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. These forms will ensure that families are prepared in case of an emergency.
As new information becomes available, NJTESOL/NJBE will update our list of resources in our NJTESOL/NJBE Immigrant Resources folder, where you will find PDFs of some of the documents in the link page below–bookmark it!
NJTESOL/NJBE List of Resources for Districts and Families Regarding ML Rights/Immigration This resources list will be continually updated – bookmark it!
Make the Road NJ
- WHAT TO DO IN AN IMMIGRATION ENCOUNTER
- QUE HACER EN CASO DE UN ENCUENTRO CON INMIGRACION
- Know Your Rights Card
- PROTECTING IMMIGRANT STUDENTS & FAMILIES Powerpoint
National Newcomer Network
This new KYR iPhone app is available in 16 languages, primarily Asian languages and Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Russian. It can read your rights out loud to an ICE or law enforcement agent and send a message to an emergency contact. It has other resources, such as the ability to look up a consulate and a sample family preparedness plan. Please share it widely. It will be ready for Android phones soon.
NEA’s Comprehensive Immigration Guide
IMMIGRANT LEGAL RESOURCE CENTER
- Red Cards
- Family Preparedness Plan
- Step by Step Family Preparedness Plan
- Immigration Preparedness Toolkit
Department of Education
- Dear Colleague Letter – Resources for Ensuring Equal Access to Education for Immigrant Students (January 2025)
- Education for All Campaign
- National Immigration Law Center Plyler and Data Collection
ACLU – Know Your Rights – Immigrants’ Rights
New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice Know Your Rights information and resources
We Have Rights resources and videos in 7 languages about safely defending rights in encounters with ICE
