Two Seattle Schools Shelter in Place because of ICE Concerns

Via The Seattle Times: 

Aki Kurose Middle School in Hillman City and Cleveland STEM High School in Beacon Hill were sheltering in place Tuesday, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity was reported in the area, school officials said.

On Aki:

The middle school was notified by Seattle Public Schools that ICE agents may be trying to draw out families who were warned of ICE activity and are coming to school to pick up their children, said Aki Kurose registrar Katie Jolgren. No ICE activity has been reported in the area yet. 

The shelter-in-place order went into effect around noon and was expected to last until the end of the day, Jolgren said. External doors were locked, and students were required to stay inside and couldn’t go to the field or playground. They could only leave if a family member came to pick them up, but it was business as usual inside. 

Concerned families have been calling the school, and some parents have picked up their children already out of caution, Jolgren said. 

All available security support staff will be watching over pickup and drop-off locations, Jolgren said.

On Cleveland:

Cleveland STEM High School was also on a shelter-in-place order for the rest of the day due to “credible reports of ICE activity in the community and possibly at other school campuses,” principal Jeff Lam told families in an email Tuesday. ICE activity was reported at other campuses, but not at Cleveland High School, Lam wrote in the email.

Doors were locked and students were staying on campus during lunch, Lam said. Staff was on watch around the campus and would manually open doors for students between periods. Students could leave if their parents decided to pick them up, Lam wrote.