School officials denied entry to federal agents seeking to search a Chicago elementary school Friday morning, fearing they were from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But it turned out that they were US Secret Service agents conducting an investigation.
Around 11:15 a.m., the agents attempted to enter Hamline Elementary School, according to Chicago Public Schools Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova.
School officials initially claimed that the agents were from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which ICE denied. The district later discovered that the agents who visited the school were from the Secret Service.
“This was not a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounter,” a spokesperson for the agency told CNN Friday afternoon.
Two agents who arrived at the school presented identification from the Department of Homeland Security, the federal agency that oversees both the Secret Service and ICE. School officials assumed the agents were from ICE, “amid rumors and reports that the agency was in the community,” a district spokesperson told CNN.
“Regardless of which branch of Homeland Security visited this school, officials followed the established protocols to ensure student safety,” a CPS spokesperson told CNN on Friday night. “The agents were not allowed into the school or permitted to speak with staff or students.”
According to CNN, the US Secret Service approached the Chicago elementary school on Friday morning while investigating a potential threat to a protectee. The agency declined to identify the protectee, as is customary in such investigations.
A Secret Service spokesperson informed CNN that 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, a police officer, said. “Agents introduced themselves to the school principal and gave him business cards with their contact information.
The agents departed without incident. The Secret Service investigates all threats against those it protects; however, it does not investigate or enforce immigration laws.
School officials were on edge as they prepared for possible encounters with ICE agents after President Donald Trump announced a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration and suggested Chicago could be targeted for enforcement actions.
“Our original communication was a result of a misunderstanding, reflective of the fear and concerns in the community amid the new administration’s focus on undocumented immigrants,” according to a CPS spokesperson.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman announced earlier this week that federal immigration authorities will be allowed to arrest people and carry out enforcement actions in and near places like churches and schools, reversing long-standing policy of avoiding so-called sensitive areas.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid prosecution. The Trump administration will not bind the hands of our brave law enforcement officers, but rather trusts them to use common sense,” the statement reads.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement implemented a policy in 2011 that prohibits agents from making arrests in sensitive areas. The Biden administration issued similar guidance.
Immigrant advocates have expressed concerns about repealing the policy, arguing that doing so would instill fear in immigrant communities, preventing children from attending school and people from seeking medical care.
“There is no sanctuary for criminal aliens in this country, nor is there a sanctuary for child trafficking, child smuggling, or child endangerment,” Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller told Fox News on Friday, in response to reports that ICE visited an 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,” according to Miller.
Meanwhile, school officials had previously explained their position and how they handled Friday’s incident.
“We will not open our doors to ICE, and we are here to protect our children and ensure they have access to an excellent education,” Hamline Principal Natasha Ortega said at a news conference Friday afternoon.
Chkoumbova emphasized the district’s commitment to protecting students and families under the Illinois Trust Act and Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance. The district does not request or share family immigration status with ICE, she stated.
According to Chkoumbova, the district will only allow ICE agents into schools if they have a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge. Access will not be granted based on administrative warrants or detainers.