A nonprofit is providing resources for Bowling Green educators to help prepare for the possibility of deportations involving undocumented students and their families.
Fugees Family is a nonprofit that provides a nontraditional learning structure for refugee and immigrant students. The organization is focused on helping international students and their families adjust to their life in America. The program has been adopted by Teranga Academy, a language school within the Bowling Green Independent School system that’s attended by students who have been in the U.S. for three years or less. There are roughly 100 students enrolled in the academy from over 10 different countries.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to carry out the “largest deportation effort in U.S. history." An estimated 9% of Kentucky children under the age of 18 have at least one parent who is an immigrant. In Warren County, over 9% of the population was born outside of the United States, according to a 2016 survey.
Luma Mufleh, founder of Fugees Family, said the resources were created to provide support for schools as changes in immigration policy impact them."Right after the election students came in and they were scared, teachers were coming in not believing that some of these things could happen and principals were really struggling on what to do," Mufleh said. "So we're hoping to alleviate some stress and some unknown to make sure our students and families are supported and that schools know the legal and ethical obligations that they have as educators."
Fugees Family created The Deportation Toolkit for educators and school districts to prepare in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in schools. The toolkit offers legal information to ensure student and staff safety, scenarios for ICE intervention in schools, and trauma informed response for students. The organization will also host webinars for school administrators to train and prepare staff.
Mufleh said that while it's still unclear how new immigration policies could take effect, educators should be prepared for changes.
"There's different ways that it could play out," Mufleh. "Schools still need to have a plan on what to do. They need to know their legal rights and responsibilities and what types of warrants current are allowed to be executed in the schools."
According to Mufleh, the threat of deportation for a child's parent could cause them to keep a student home from school, for fear of the family being broken up.
"More likely, a kid would go home and their parent has been deported or there has been a work force raid in their community and families go deeper underground," Mufleh said. "That's going to impact schools, that's going to impact students' learning and attendance. How do you support those families?"
