A federal judge on Friday denied a request from Denver Public Schools to prevent immigration agents from working in or near education facilities, saying the district failed to establish a direct threat to students.
After a one-hour hearing in Denver, U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico ruled the school district had simply not made a strong enough case that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers were a threat to learning.
“I do not think DPS has met its high burden here,” Domenico said. The judge took a brief recess to consider the case, then ruled from the bench.
Domenico noted that agreeing to the DPS request would make most of the city of Denver off-limits to ICE operations since the district wanted to protect not only schools, but school bus stops as well.
“Much of the injury relied on here by DPS is speculative, based on fears of future action,” Domenico said. “Based on mistaken reports or based on actions that took place elsewhere.”
DPS had cited the detention of a parent near a school in Chicago as part of its rationale for seeking an injunction against ICE.
Read: Denver Public Schools sues feds to stop immigration enforcement at schools, ‘sensitive locations’
One of the Trump Administration’s first actions this year was rescinding a 14-year-old “protected areas” policy that barred immigration enforcement (except in extreme circumstances) at sensitive locations like churches, emergency shelters, and schools.
The reasoning was that immigration enforcement in these locations would restrict access to essential services, like schooling. The policy was first laid out in a 2011 memo by the head of the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama Administration and strengthened in 2021 by the Biden Administration.
In rescinding the policy, the new guidance from DHS sweeps away the specific protections and instead urges immigration agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to use “common sense” in operating in or near schools.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders [sic] and rapists—who have illegally come into our country,” read a statement from a DHS spokesperson announcing the policy change. “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.”
Less than a month later, on Feb. 12, DPS sued in federal court arguing that the threat of opening school grounds to routine enforcement of immigration laws has caused direct harm by reducing attendance and increasing stress among students and teachers.
Attendance in the district was down three percent in February relative to February 2024, and attendance is even lower in schools with large numbers of migrant students, according to DPS court filings. The district did not say how much attendance declined in specific schools.
Read: Homeland Security files response in Denver Public Schools immigration enforcement suit
Even when in school, DPS said in motions before today’s hearing that stress is impacting learning across the campus, and “teachers are spending time (a precious resource) responding to fears about the 2025 Policy instead of educating students.”
DPS sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the policy, arguing that lower attendance and increased student stress are a direct result of the new, tougher enforcement policy.
“Defendants cannot make statements threatening increased enforcement, including at schools, and disclaim the harm that naturally flows from them,” reads a motion filed by DPS’s attorneys in advance of the hearing.
The district’s attorneys also noted that the Trump Administration has called out schools as potential hiding places for criminals in the country illegally.
Domenico, of Boulder, was appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump during his first term in office. He was previously the solicitor general for the state of Colorado and worked in private practice.
