‘Bring them to school’: Superintendent encourages Haitians to return amid TPS fears

Fears over the end of Temporary Protected Status for thousands of Haitian immigrants in Miami-Dade should not keep parents from sending their children to school, Miami-Dade Superintendent Jose Dotres said Friday.

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The message came amid increased wariness among immigrants from the Caribbean nation to participate in public life. As many as 350,000 Haitians lost their Temporary Protected Status in the country this week when a federal judge lifted an order blocking the Trump administration from implementing the change.

Dotres repeated a line he has used in addressing fears over increased federal immigration enforcement under Trump: “Our schools are the best place for children to be.

“Parents should not keep their children at home. Please bring them to school. You, as a family member, as a parent, that may have concerns… we will provide the appropriate resources, the reach out, that you may need to resolve some of that anxiety,” Dotres said.

He reiterated that public schools in Miami-Dade are not only “safe” for children to attend, but they also provide resources to students.

“Every single child, no matter what their circumstances is in our school district, we have resources for them. We have counselors. We have mental health specialists, coordinators. Kids are our number one, and we’re going to take care of them no matter what,” he said.

Dotres’ comments came at a press briefing after his final “opening of schools” address in front of administrators packed into Miami Senior High School.

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When asked about employees who lost TPS, and if they are no longer with the district, Dotres said the school system “has to take the appropriate measure” in those cases. A school district spokesman later clarified to the Miami Herald that the comment meant those workers are no longer employed.

“Every employee is different. Every situation is different. If they don’t have status, well, we have to take the appropriate measure. But we try to make sure that we monitor closely TPS’s impact on our school district because it may impact our staffing needs across not only teachers but there’s a lot of clerical, transportation. There are certain categories of employees that we have to be very watchful in terms of that status,” Dotres said.

Still, he called the overall staff impact “minimal,” and asserted that any loss of employees due to the change in TPS would not significantly hinder the district’s operations as the first day of school approaches.

Comments from Dotres’ eventual replacement — South Region Superintendent Rafael Villalobos, who was selected last week as his replacement — struck a similar chord.

Villalobos emphasized at a press event last week that he plans to “welcome every single child into our schools.”

“Our main focus and our priority is to make sure that children are in seats learning,” he said, ”and that they feel safe and secure in our schools.”

Read more ‘Bring them to school’: Superintendent encourages Haitians to return amid TPS fears