Denver Public Schools, educators denounce Trump’s immigration orders

DENVER – The backlash against President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration and refugees continued Thursday, as Denver Public Schools and other Colorado education and teachers associations publicly opposed the actions.

DPS, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, Padres & Jovenes Unidos and the Colorado Education Association issued a joint public statement Thursday morning saying they would protect immigrants and refugees in the Denver school system.

“We stand together – as a school district, educators, students and families – to oppose the actions President Trump has taken through his executive orders today. Immigrant and refugee students, families, educators, and staff are precious members of our Denver school communities and we greatly value them for the contributions they make to our schools and communities,” the joint statement said.

“We will do everything in our individual and collective power to protect them from deportation, criminalization, intimidation and harassment.”

The letter was signed by Padres & Jovenes Unidos co-executive directors Elsa Oliva Rocha, Pam Martinez and Ricardo Martinez; Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg; Denver Classroom Teachers Association Henry Roman and Colorado Education Association President Kerrie Dallman, who is also a teacher at Jefferson County High School.

Denver Public Schools is the state’s largest school district, and the Colorado Education Association is an organization comprised of tens of thousands of public educators in the state.

Likewise, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association has almost 3,000 members comprised of public educators, and Padres & Jovenes Unidos is an organization that fights for education equity and immigrant rights, among other social issues.

They join several Denver city council members and Democratic lawmakers and members of Congress to publicly denounce Trump’s actions, which would strip federal funding from any so-called “sanctuary city” that does not aid federal agents in identifying and deporting suspected undocumented immigrants, and would limit visas from certain predominantly-Muslim countries.

Several Colorado officials publicly called the orders unconstitutional Wednesday and called for their judicial review.