By F. Amanda Tugade, Des Moines Register
Des Moines Public Schools is seeking additional guidance from its legal counsel to determine whether some employees would be impacted by a recent Supreme Court decision that would allow the Trump administration to strip more than 300,00 Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. of temporary protected status.
A federal judge had blocked the administration from ending a program that allowed the migrants to live and work temporarily in the United States due to living conditions in their country.
But in an unsigned order May 19, the Supreme Court said that the administration can end protections for the migrants pending appeal of the case. The brief order gave no explanation, as is common for actions on emergency requests.
DMPS spokesperson Phil Roeder said the district “has recently been confirming” that it has “on file” the employment authorization documents for employees who are not U.S. citizens.
“So far, the current process has not led to anyone being terminated from their position,” Roeder said in an email. “However, I would add that, with the recent revocation of protected refugee status for people from both Afghanistan and Venezuela, we are not certain what impact that might have on those who do have proper authorization for employment, and are waiting for further legal guidance.”
The district has 65 employees with either a visa or an employment authorization card, Roeder said. He did not immediately know which countries those employees are from, he said.Â
Venezuelans make up a small portion — 754 people or about .3% — of Iowa’s Latino population, according to the State Data Center and U.S. Census Bureau. That’s roughly the same percentage in Polk County, records also show.
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