Resource: Sanctuary: K-12 School Districts in Agricultural Communities

This comment was initiated some eight months after the Executive Order was issued and well after the Executive Order’s enforcement had been challenged by multiple lawsuits on constitutional grounds. A federal judge eventually ruled that the Executive Order was unconstitutional and permanently blocked its enforcement. Despite this ruling, the Executive Order still casts an ominous shadow on sanctuary jurisdictions, which may – or may not – include K-12 school districts with sanctuary policies. This comment will discuss K-12 education in agricultural communities, in light of the Executive Order’s threat to defund any jurisdiction that was deemed a sanctuary. The goal of this comment is to examine the nature, purpose, and utility of K-12 sanctuary policies in connection with the mandates of the Executive Order and the President’s broader immigration goal, which includes dismantling sanctuary jurisdictions.