Superintendent Melissa Aviles-Ramos did not appear this week at a school board meeting that voted to welcome and serve immigrant students, amid growing speculation that she was under pressure from Mayor Adams. told the Post.
Aviles-Ramos was surprisingly absent from Wednesday's Education Policy Panel meeting, which passed a resolution reaffirming its commitment to include and protect all students and families “regardless of their immigration status.” It was passed unanimously.
There was a “scheduling conflict” between Aviles and Ramos, officials said.
One source said City Hall had instructed the prime minister not to attend the meeting or make a statement on the resolution to avoid antagonizing the Trump administration.
The PEP meeting was held after the city of Adams said it would “coordinate” with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in response to a series of executive orders from President Trump.
Adams said the city is still “analyzing” an order that would lift a long-standing ban on immigration raids in “sensitive” areas such as churches and schools.
The PEP, which is made up of appointed and elected guardians, requires the city Department of Education to provide training to its employees on immigrant rights, and that school safety personnel are “federal immigration enforcement officers'' under the supervision of the NYPD. He asked them to reconfirm that they would not participate in any activities.
“I think they were concerned about how it would be viewed,” PEP chair Greg Faulkner told the Post about the prime minister's absence.
But Faulkner, the mayor-designate, said he was unaware of any pressure from City Hall to hold off on the mayor.
The resolution, which is not legally binding, passed unanimously with 18 votes, including 11 from mayoral councilors.
“There's no reason not to trust her. I have no reason not to trust the mayor,” said Manhattan Rep. Naveed Hasan, who co-sponsored the resolution with Faulkner.
He claimed the mayor had a “personal conflict of interest.”
He added that hopes for a pardon from President Trump for Adams on bribery and fraud charges “would cross the mind of anyone trying to save themselves.”
“Ethically he cannot continue to be mayor.”
The DOE released the following statement from Aviles Ramos: “New York City Public Schools is committed to serving all students, regardless of immigration status, national origin, or religion. We are grateful to our partners at the Education Policy Panel for their support.”
