Groups ask for CMS permission to pass out immigration information after ICE detention
Community members are calling on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to do more to protect immigrant students after a parent was detained near a school this month.
A key point for multiple public speakers at Thursday’s Board of Education meeting: CMS is the only school district of the 20 largest in the nation that prohibits community organizations from giving out “Know Your Rights” information to families. That’s according to an analysis by Amy Hawn Nelson, an education researcher at the University of Pennsylvania who lives in Charlotte.
The information typically tells people, regardless of immigration status, how to exercise their rights, particularly when interacting with law enforcement and immigration officials.
However, CMS board member Liz Monterrey Duvall asserted that CMS policy allows the distribution of “Know Your Rights” materials as long as its otherwise in compliance with district policy. And decisions can always be appealed, Monterrey Duvall said.
Parents and community organizers at Thursday’s CMS board meeting, though, said they’ve been prohibited from distributing information about people’s immigration rights. Organizers said the district claimed the materials provided legal guidance and, therefore, violated policy.
“I believe that educators have a moral responsibility to ensure that students feel safe, valued and supported, regardless of where anyone stands on immigration policy,” Sara Kay Mooney, a member of the Charlotte East Language Academy’s parent-teacher association and former CMS teacher, told the board. “This requires giving educators the tools and support to respond when students or their families are living in fear due to deportation threats or the trauma of family separation.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained a father near the language academy on May 12, during morning drop-off at the school. Other speakers talked about reports from families that ICE agents have been near CMS bus stops.
Mooney and other members of the school’s PTA want CMS to provide trauma-informed training to staff and allow distribution of “Know Your Rights” information to immigrant families.
“There have been a lot of changes in the policies regarding immigration, and I think it’s our responsibility as a community here in Mecklenburg County to really try to make the students as safe and their families as safe as possible and help them make educated decisions,” said Lariza Garzon, director of North Carolina and mid-South operations for The Hispanic Federation.
“My wife was taking my kids to school May 12 when they saw a fleet of ICE vehicles arresting a father on his way to morning drop-off,” Stephen Hairgrove, a Charlotte East Language Academy parent and CMS educator, told the board. “When my 10-year-old son asked to attend a protest, he made a sign that said ‘My friends shouldn’t live in fear.’”
ICE activity near CMS schools
Garzon said numerous local families tell her they’re afraid to bring their children to school or doctor’s appointments for fear of encountering ICE agents.
“They’re seeing the tensions online; they’re hearing about someone getting detained at school drop-off,” Garzon said. “There’s a whole mental health impact of these things.”
Maryann Ruiz works with the Carolina Migrant Network, which runs an immigration hotline. She hears from scared families all the time.
”The reality is living like that is not living in freedom,” Ruiz said.
The CMS board previously issued a statement offering counseling and support to school students and staff after a parent was detained near Charlotte East Language Academy on May 12.
CMS also provided legal guidance in November and shared updates on Jan. 17 about what school leaders should do if immigration enforcement asks to enter a school or speak to a student.
“CMS has taken action over 40 times since November to inform and protect our families, from legal guidance and public statements to school-based training and community outreach,” Monterrey Duvall said.
Still, advocates say the district can do more to protect students off campus.
“Even if it’s not on campus and only near campus, it’s still something that students are being affected by, just by seeing it or knowing that it’s happening near them,” Ruiz said.
At the end of the 2023-24 school year, CMS had 24,318 students enrolled who listed a country other than the United States as their country of birth. That figure includes those with legal status and those who are undocumented, as school districts cannot collect information related to a student’s immigration status.
CMS students represented 175 countries of origin and 146 native languages, as of August.
This story was originally published June 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
