Ocasio-Cortez, Espaillat, Goldman Lead Letter Demanding Transparency on ICE Detention of School-Aged Children

Press Release

Washington, D.C.- Last week, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Daniel Goldman (NY-10) led a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon expressing profound concern over the pattern of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting students across the country.

In August, this administration arrested and quickly deported 6-year-old Dayraand her mother, separating their family. Dayra's brother, a recent graduate, was also detained, and he remains in adult ICE detention. Two of Dayra's siblings remain in New York without their mother, including one who is also a young student. There are at least five publicly reported cases of K-12 student arrests in New York City.

"In New York City, school communities have been shaken by the arrest and deportation of school children as young as six years old. ICE's targeting of not only adults without criminal convictions, but also children and families, negates the administration's stated policy of going after the 'worst of the worst' for deportation proceedings," the lawmakers wrote."All students in the United States are entitled to equal access to education, regardless of their immigration status, race or nationality, or the language they speak…We demand transparency on how the Department of Education is fulfilling its obligations to students in ICE detention, as well as how it is looking after the mental health impact of student arrests and detentions to the broader school community, including to the U.S. citizen classmates of detained students."

The full letter is available here.

In addition to Representatives Ocasio-Cortez, Espaillat and Goldman, the following members joined in signing: Representatives Yvette Clarke (NY-09), George Latimer (NY-16), Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Grace Meng (NY-06), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), and Nydia Velázquez (NY-07).

At the end of the letter, the lawmakers posed the following questions, to which they requested answers in writing no later than October 15, 2025:

1. What is the total number of students arrested by DHS since January 20, 2025, as of the date of this letter, including K-12 and university students?
   1. How many of them remain in DHS custody?
   2. What is the average length of stay for K-12 students in ICE detention?
   3. What percentage of them were detained with their families?
2. Please produce a list of all students arrested by ICE nationally and aggregated by congressional district.
3. Please provide an explanation as to why students without removal orders or without criminal records were enforcement priorities.
4. Please produce all communications between DHS and the Department of Education regarding immigration enforcement.
   1. Please produce copies of all written guidance DHS provides to its detention facilities to ensure that they meet requirements for custody of minors under the Flores Settlement Agreement and equal access to education under Plyler v. Doe.
5. The Department of Education has the responsibility under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution to ensure that all students have equal access to education. Please provide copies of curricula, sample lesson plans, and rubrics currently in use at ICE detention facilities, processing sites, and Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters.
   1. What qualifications, including proficiency in languages other than English, does DHS require when recruiting and hiring teachers, teaching assistants, and other education staff? Please provide copies of all educator job descriptions currently in use.
   2. How often does DHS review and update curricula? What is the average class size and how are curricula adapted to student needs such as age, English language knowledge, and learning differences?

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