Border Patrol Chief Dismisses 'Absurd' Reports ICE Will 'Target School Buses and Children'

Hours after the Alice Independent School District in South Texas said they received information that Border Patrol agents may be boarding school buses at highway checkpoints in and out of the Rio Grande Valley, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks said during a television appearance on Feb. 6 that the rumors were "absurd" and that Border Patrol agents are not going to target school buses and children.

In a video posted on his X account, Banks reiterated that agents are not targeting buses nor other public spaces such as schools or churches.

Banks claims the statements made by the school district are not true. During an appearance at Fox & Friends, Banks said school buses "will not be targeted" adding that the message conveyed by the district is "absurd."

Banks added that he is considering communicating to journalists about Border Patrol operations because he believes there has been a lot of incorrect information reported.

On Feb. 5, Alice ISD Superintendent Anysia Trevino wrote in a letter that agents were targeting school buses "to question students about their citizenship status," adding that if a student does not have identification or other documents that show their legal status, "they may be removed from the bus, detained and possibly deported."

Despite the claims, the school district removed the letter from its Facebook page and its website the following day, and posted another statement calling the letter a proactive move "out of an abundance of caution."

"Student safety, which has always been and will continue to be our priority, was the only motivation," Trevino said on Feb. 6.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement emailed to Border Report that immigration officers do not target school buses, but if a bus travels through an immigration checkpoint, officers may verify the immigration status of its passengers, including students.

According to Border Report, under federal law, immigration agents are allowed to enter vehicles to check for immigration papers of passengers without a warrant if that vehicle is traveling within 100 miles of the border. But as stated by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), two out of three Americans live within 100 miles of the border, including its coastlines.

The tactic allegedly used by Border Patrol agents is possible thanks to the Trump administration scrapping a longstanding practice barring immigration agents from making arrests at public schools, health care facilities and places of worship.

More than two weeks since President Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term, his mass deportation plan conducted by ICE officials has led to the detention of nearly 9,000 undocumented immigrants, out of which 5,693 have been deported.