Unauthorized ICE wellness checks' by police at Ohio schools draw outrage

"At all three locations, the officers, whose sidearms were visible to school staff at the time and who neglected to tell administrators they were working on behalf of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) so-called wellness checks, were denied access to children they sought after failing to produce warrants or papers. They told staff in the school's main office they were conducting wellness checks and displayed a list of approximately 30 individuals' names, a statement issued by Cincinnati public schools staff said, referring to the officers' visit to the Western Hills university high school, a school with more than 400 students with Hispanic heritage."

"The law enforcement officers were not received well. At all three locations, the officers, whose sidearms were visible to school staff at the time and who neglected to tell administrators they were working on behalf of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) so-called wellness checks, were denied access to children they sought after failing to produce warrants or papers. They told staff in the school's main office they were conducting wellness checks and displayed a list of approximately 30 individuals' names, a statement issued by Cincinnati public schools staff said."

"The officers asked whether anyone on the list was enrolled in Western Hills. Staff confirmed the enrollment of two students on the list. Cincinnati's mayor, Aftab Pureval, called the incidents disgusting on so many levels. Rights groups say the officers' efforts speak to the frightening extent that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Trump administration is going to target some of the most vulnerable communities across the country."

"Cincinnati's Price Hill is a bastion of Latino life. On Warsaw Avenue, the neighborhood's main drag, Guatemalan flags and taco trucks are dotted around street corners and parking lots. In the streets around the Roberts Academy elementary school, students flood out of school on a recent Thursday afternoon. Nearby, four boys kick a soccer ball around a tiny garden."

Price Hill in Cincinnati is described as a Latino community with Guatemalan flags, taco trucks, and students leaving Roberts Academy elementary school. On 15 April, a 17-year police officer from Gratis, Ohio, and a colleague from a nearby jurisdiction attempted to question school administrators about children attending the facilities for ICE wellness checks. At Roberts Academy and two nearby schools, the officers were not well received and were denied access to children. They displayed a list of about 30 names and said they were conducting wellness checks, but they did not produce warrants or papers and did not tell administrators they were working for ICE. Staff confirmed enrollment of two listed students. The mayor condemned the incidents, while rights groups warned about targeting vulnerable communities under the Trump administration.

Read at www.theguardian.com