ICE has previously been prohibited from conducting immigration enforcement raids in schools, churches, hospitals, and other sensitive places.  On January 20, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it was rescinding that policy, and that officers should instead “apply enforcement discretion” to determine “the degree to which any law enforcement action occurs in a sensitive location.” This policy change opened up the possibility of ICE raids taking place during an LMSD school day, and has sparked community members to begin preparing for the possibility of an immigration enforcement raid at LM.

In a statement titled “Change in Protected Areas Designation for Schools” posted to lmsd.org, the school board and district administration announced that they are reviewing the potential impact of the change with the district’s legal counsel, and “reviewing guidance from organizations such as the School Superintendents’ Association (AASA).” 

LMSD’s official policy is that school staff should “notify Central Administration and follow existing procedures for admission of visitors and for protecting student privacy, including those protected by the Family Education Rights Privacy Act (FERPA).” According to LMSD administrative Regulation #907 all visitors, including ICE officers, will be asked to state their purpose for their visit and provide identification at the front desk entrance before gaining entrance into the school. From there, LMSD has no publicly-shared protocol for handling potential ICE raids but will likely approach incidents on a case by case basis. Under FERPA, “a school generally may not disclose personally identifiable information from a student’s education records to a third party unless the student’s parents/guardians have provided prior written consent,” as outlined on LMSD.org. According to resources provided on the AASA website, FERPA “requires that schools withhold information that could identify students to third parties, including federal immigration officials,” and prevents schools from revealing information from a student’s educational records without a subpoena or parental consent, meaning that LMSD would highly limit what information they disclose to ICE officers.
In light of the newfound possibility of an ICE raid during the school day, LMSD stated that they “will continue to prioritize ensuring all students’ safety and sense of belonging in our schools. Any students who are concerned about this issue or other topics in the news are urged to speak to their counselors.” 

There are yet to be any publicly documented ICE raids within Lower Merion Township or Montgomery County. However, in Northeast Philadelphia, seven people were detained after an ICE raid at a car wash and ICE officers were documented attempting to conduct an immigration check at a Puerto Rican restaurant in the Port Richmond area of Philadelphia, as first reported by ABC.  

Since 2016, Philadelphia’s Police Department (PPD) has not cooperated with ICE detainment orders, as a result of Philadelphia executive order 5-16. That means that no one detained by PPD, who would otherwise have been released, will be kept in police custody due to a ICE detainer request, and the PPD will not notify ICE of anyone’s release—meaning that if someone’s arrested, they’ll be released as scheduled even if ICE wants the city to continue holding them. This policy, often referred to as a “sanctuary city policy” offers immigrant communities in Philadelphia some limited protection, but doesn’t prevent ICE from deporting people they detain in immigration enforcement raids. 

LM does not have any similar sanctuary policies, and Lower Merion Township has no official stated policy regarding their compliance with ICE raids. Similarly, the Lower Merion Police Department (LMPD) has never officially stated if they comply with detainment orders from ICE agents, and the most recent time someone was detained by ICE in LM was in 2017, when Jonatan Palacios was detained outside his apartment near the Haverford train station. While LMPD was present, the department claimed that “officers did not become involved in this matter,” in a statement released on May 12, 2017. 

In the aftermath of that incident, LMPD Police Superintendent Micheal McGrath stated that “Despite the current national debate about what the new administration is charging federal agents to do, local law enforcement does not enforce federal immigration laws. The LMPD does not, and should not, evaluate charges filed by ICE, and has no authority over the agency’s actions. The LMPD works with other law enforcement agencies in a professional and cooperative spirit at the local, state, and federal level, which is reciprocated in kind,” as first reported by Patch News. McGrath stepped down from his position in 2024 and was succeeded by Andrew Block, but no more recent communications have come from the LMPD about their relationship with ICE and—unlike the Philadelphia police—LMPD has no stated policies of noncompliance with ICE requests.

  While much remains unclear about the possibility of ICE raids affecting LM, LMSD remains committed to ensuring “that all students and staff feel a sense of safety and belonging in our schools,” according to a statement released by Amy Buckman on February 4. The statement continued, “We know these assurances must be in place if we expect children to achieve to their highest potential. We commit to these priorities for all students and staff, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, immigration status, disability or any other identity.”