(CNN) — Fearing federal agents asking to search a Chicago elementary school Friday morning were from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, school officials denied them entry. But the US Secret Service later said its agents were there pursuing an investigation.
Around 11:15 a.m., the agents attempted to enter Hamline Elementary School, Chicago Public Schools’ Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova said. School officials initially said the agents were from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which ICE denied.
“This was not a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounter,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement to CNN Friday afternoon.
The Chicago Police Department also told CNN it was not called to the school.
The US Secret Service approached the Chicago elementary school Friday morning as they were investigating a potential threat to a protectee, the agency told CNN. The agency would not name the protectee, as is common for investigations of this type.
A Secret Service spokesperson told CNN the agency’s Chicago office was “investigating a threat made against a government official we protect.”
“In the course of their investigation, agents first visited a residence in a local neighborhood and then made a visit to Hamline Elementary School,” Anthony Guglielmi said. “Agents identified themselves to the school principal and provided business cards with their contact information. The agents left without incident. The Secret Service investigates all threats made against those we protect, we do not investigate nor enforce immigration laws.”
School officials were prepared for possible encounters with ICE agents since President Donald Trump announced a planned nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration and suggested Chicago could be a target for enforcement actions.
Earlier this week, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman announced federal immigration authorities will be permitted to arrest people and carry out enforcement actions in and near places such as churches and schools, marking a departure from long-standing policy to avoid so-called sensitive areas.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” the statement reads.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement set a policy in 2011 preventing agents from making arrests in sensitive locations. The Biden administration put out similar guidance. Immigrant advocates have shared concerns over stripping the policy, arguing doing so would stoke fear in immigrant communities and keep children from going to school or people from seeking care at hospitals.
“There’s no sanctuary for criminal aliens in this country, nor is there a sanctuary for child trafficking, for child smuggling or for child endangerment,” Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller told Fox News Friday in response to reports ICE went to a the elementary school.
“ICE officers will take the actions necessary to protect the lives and safety of our children and to identify individuals who are involved in the smuggling and trafficking of our children in order to conduct these investigations, in order to protect the safety and security of children all across America, federal law enforcement is unrestricted access to conduct basic investigations,” Miller said.
Meanwhile, school officials explained their position and how they handled Friday’s incident.
“School staff followed CPS established protocols,” Chkoumbova said in a news conference Friday. “They kept ICE agents outside of the school and contacted CPS law department and CPS Office of Safety and Security for further guidance. The ICE agents were not allowed into the school and were not permitted to speak to any students or staff members.”
Chkoumbova emphasized protocols were followed, ensuring student and staff safety, and reiterated the district’s commitment to protecting students and families in accordance with the Illinois Trust Act and Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance. The district does not ask for or share family immigration status with ICE, she said.
The district will only allow ICE agents into schools with a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge, and access will not be granted based on administrative warrants or detainers, Chkoumbova said.
Staff followed protocols, ensuring safety of students and upholding their right to an education, Hamline Principal Natasha Ortega said at the news conference.
“I am very grateful to all of our Hamline staff here for upholding all of our protocols and ensuring the safety of our students,” Ortega said. “We will not open our doors for ICE, and we are here to protect our children and make sure they have access to an excellent education.”
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