Several schools are trying to fly under the radar with programs providing education to illegal immigrants despite the Trump administration cutting funding for such initiatives.
The Trump administration on June 30 announced it was revoking nearly $7 billion in federal grants that went towards teaching English as a second language — used in part for illegal immigrants — saying the funds are being used to push “a radical leftwing agenda.” Now, some schools are advising staff to use private messaging tactics and are wiping details from their websites to cover their tracks, The 74 reported. (RELATED: Texas And DOJ Agree: No Cheap College For Illegals)
“Because of the threats from the federal administration about revoking the 501(c)(3) status of nonprofits, we want to keep ourselves from being targeted,” an employee of an organization that works with undocumented youth, who chose to remain anonymous, told The 74. “Anything that could be perceived as obstructing or challenging federal immigration policies, we don’t put in writing. Anything that could be seen as a criticism of the administration — or anything that could be seen as partisan — we’re going to completely avoid.”
Genovava Ramirez holds her son, Alejandro Ramirez, as they join with demonstrators, including students from local high schools as well as a college, to rally in front of Homestead City Hall against President-elect Donald Trump and are asking that the city be used as a sanctuary city and their respective schools be sanctuary campuses on November 16, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Some schools and leftwing activist organizations are advising members to use secure messaging apps like Signal rather than text or email, or conduct conversations over the phone, The 74 said. Staff are also directed not to participate in any protests or rallies in support of illegals to avoid the federal government’s radar.
“We’re not trying to draw attention,” an administrator for an Illinois school district told The 74 on condition of anonymity. “I don’t want any light shining on our district.”
The funding being withheld from schools went towards after-school and summer school programs mainly focused on adult education and English learning for non-speakers. The Office of Management and Budget is currently reviewing whether to release some or all of the funding after it discovered some schools used it for illegal immigrants, according to The Detroit News.
School administrators and consultants are even being advised to avoid certain words in emails, such as terms related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), to prevent communications from being discovered through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, The 74 reported.
The Trump administration has also taken aim at states that provide special benefits to illegal immigrants, including several that offer in-state tuition prices for illegals. Texas even joined on to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit against the state to overturn the law allowing the policy, with the state now asking colleges and universities within the state to identify the illegal students.
Reining in illegal immigration has been a main priority of the administration, especially after the Biden administration allowed hundreds of criminal illegal migrants to flood into the U.S. Roughly 11 million total border encounters occurred at the southern border throughout the Biden administration.
So far, the Trump administration has facilitated the arrests of over 30,000 illegal immigrants in the U.S., about half of whom it claims are convicted criminals. Border crossings have plummeted since President Donald Trump took office, with no illegal migrants released into the U.S. in May.
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