MALDEF Settles Lawsuit Against New Mexico School District

Last week, the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) responded to a suit filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) by adopting a formal policy and procedural directives which affirm the school district’s commitment to providing an education to all children who live within its boundaries, regardless of their citizenship status. MALDEF filed the suit, Gonzalez vs. APS, et al., in May 2005, after three APS students were unlawfully searched, detained and removed from school by local police and Border Patrol because they were suspected of being undocumented. “In implementing these policies and directives, APS has made clear that its primary and only function is to educate all children who live within its boundaries to the best of its ability, and that it will play no role in identifying immigrant children or assisting in the unwarranted interrogation or seizures of these students,” stated David Urias, MALDEF Staff Attorney. The APS guidelines require that, unless local law enforcement or immigration officials have a valid subpoena or warrant, they cannot remove Latino children from school to be questioned about their immigration status and that any information regarding a student’s immigration status must be immediately removed from any and all school records. The policy and directives ensure compliance with the principles set forth in Plyler v. Doe, a Supreme Court case litigated by MALDEF almost 25 years ago, which held that the Constitution precluded school officials from denying immigrant children access to a public school education and from taking any action meant to deter these children from seeking educational opportunities in public schools. “APS’s new policies are in no way an attempt to thwart the enforcement of federal or local laws on school campuses. Instead, the policies and directives are meant to ensure that law enforcement officers and school officials abide by clearly established federal and constitutional law by protecting the district’s students from unlawful seizures and interrogations absent a valid legal basis,” added John Trasviña, MALDEF Interim President and General Counsel. APS and the parties represented by MALDEF anticipate resolving the matter in the weeks to come. “Both APS and the clients represented by MALDEF would rather work toward ensuring that these children are safe while they are at school than continuing to litigate the issue regarding what role school officials played, if any, in depriving these students of their constitutional rights,” said Nina Perales, MALDEF Southwest Regional Counsel.  Last week, Peralas won a voting rights case involving the dilution of Latina/o voting power in Texas. 

KJ