Denver Public Schools apologizes for letter that said striking teachers on visas could be reported to immigration

Article subtitle: 
An HR official reportedly sent a letter to a school that said the district would report immigrant teachers on visa who participated in a strike
Article CAIRCO note: 
From Article: the error “was the result of a misinterpretation of the information that we received from our immigration firm"
Article author: 
Saja Hindi
Article publisher: 
Denver Post
Article date: 
25 January 2019
Article category: 
Colorado News
Medium
Article Body: 

A racial justice organization says Denver Public Schools is intimidating immigrant teachers who are considering striking, but district officials called it an error.

The Denver Classroom Teachers Association’s voted this week to authorize a district-wide walkout, calling for better pay for teachers. The school district asked for state intervention on Thursday that could delay the strike for up to 180 days.

However, on Thursday evening, the Colorado People’s Alliance posted a letter sent by a district human resources employee to a school, that stated that teachers on H or J visas who choose to strike will be reported to immigration and the U.S. Department of State...

In a statement Thursday evening, district spokesman Will Jones said “an incorrect communication was provided by a DPS employee regarding our educators on H-1B and J-1 visas.”...

But the district statement said the error “was the result of a misinterpretation of the information that we received from our immigration firm [emphasis by CAIRCO] and the communication was in no way intended to cause fear for our educators on visas ...


CAIRCO Research

Kolko & Casey P.C., is the Immigration law firm that works with the school district