A program that would add police officers in Tucson schools is on hold because of Arizona’s immigration law. Parents and officials want to make sure their kids immigration status won’t be questioned at school.
The school resource officers are meant to protect, educate and guide students. According to Tucson Unified School District board member Cam Jaurez, schools should not move forward with the grant for the officers until it is clear that students and parents won’t be questioned about their immigration status.
“This is something that really freaks me out because I want my child to be treated in a fair and balanced way," Juarez said. "I don’t feel comfortable with students being treated differently because of their Spanish surname.”
Juarez said school resource officers should not be enforcing immigration law on school grounds. Tucson City Councilman Paul Cunningham believes a lawsuit about not enforcing immigration laws is unlikely.
“Bringing in this whole immigration mess that the legislature created is actually a waste of time from my opinion. It completely veers off the whole point of having school resource officers in the first place,” Cunningham said.
The Tucson City Council changed the wording in the contract to say that officers can only ask about a student’s immigration status if it is directly relevant to an investigation. The contracts now have to go back to the school boards for final approval.