FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward County Public Schools voted Tuesday to make school grounds a safe zone from immigration enforcement.
The new resolution covers all school-related activities and prohibits Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from performing raids or inquiring about the immigration status of students on school grounds.
Dozens packed the Broward County schools adminstration building and cheered when the resolution passed with unanimous support.
"Serving our kids and making sure that they're safe is something that we can always, always come together and rally around," Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie told the crowd.
School officials hope the resolution will ease fears among immigrant students who study in Broward County. Immigrant parents often kept their children home to keep them safe.
"That uncertainty of, like, you know, if I get separated from my child, what's going to happen to my child," said Paola Munoz from the Florida Immigrant Coalition. "So they'd rather not send them to school to begin with because they're that afraid."
WLRN reports that Broward County Public Schools becomes the first school district in South Florida to adopt such a resolution.