"Advocates warn this practice is unethical and severely harms children, regardless of immigration status. We spoke to Laura Vazquez, director of immigrant integration at the advocacy organization UnidosUS, who said that these unannounced checks, no matter how they are labeled, and the Trump administration's rescission of "protected areas"-such as schools, youth-serving organizations, churches, and hospitals-are sowing fear in communities, disrupting classrooms, and undermining trust in these institutions as safe havens."
"While ICE claims so-called wellness checks are conducted to ensure that unaccompanied immigrant children-those who either came to the US without an adult, were separated from their parents at the border, or were separated from their parents by recent ICE raids-are attending school and are not being exploited, advocates warn the approach ICE has been taking is invasive and treacherous, particularly in the absence of clear guidelines or legal protections."
As the school year begins, immigration policy in 2025 features expanded detention, enforcement, and widespread civil-rights violations. ICE has increasingly used unannounced "wellness checks" in schools and other public places previously treated as off-limits. Those checks were typically conducted by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which lacks deportation authority; ICE's involvement marks a shift in practice and intent. Advocates warn the checks are unethical, harm children, sow fear, disrupt classrooms, and undermine trust in institutions designated as safe havens. ICE frames checks as protecting unaccompanied children and preventing exploitation, while opponents describe the approach as invasive and lacking clear legal protections.
Read at Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
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