A leading progressive law firm in Maine is advising public school officials on how they can effectively resist potential immigration enforcement actions that may involve the families of minors who attend government-run schools, including by destroying evidence of potential immigration crimes.
The advice may place school officials in the legal crosshairs of the Trump Administration under a new policy advisory distributed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which warns state and local officials not to interfere with federal law enforcement activities.
“[S]chool officials should generate a plan for what to do if immigration officials seek to conduct activities at school, and provide appropriate training to those who may come in contact with officials,” law firm Drummond Woodsum warned in an “Immigration Client Alert” distributed on Jan. 21.
A copy of that advisory email was obtained by the Maine Wire and is published below in full.
The memo advises clients who may have evidence that a student and that student’s parents or guardians are not U.S. citizens or are present in the U.S. without authorization.
According to Drummond Woodsum, school officials should destroy those records or stop collecting them so as to obstruct or prevent federal immigration officials from enforcing American immigration law.
Schools may have collected data on students’ U.S. citizenship, nationality, country of birth, U.S. entry date, the date a student first attended school, or the immigration status of the student or their parents or guardians, the memo states.
“[T]his information should not be stored as part of a students education record and should be destroyed as soon as it is no longer needed,” the memo states.


Drummond Woodsum, the Portland-based law firm that instructed schools to destroy evidence of potential illegal immigration, is a well-known left-wing firm in Maine.
In addition to practicing law, the firm is a major progressive lobby shop that generally advocates for Democratic Party policies and clients aligned with the Democratic Party.
The firm has been deeply involved in not only immigration-related disputes but also efforts to pressure public schools to conform with left-wing policies rooted in gender ideology. The firm provides a robust government services division — subsidized by lucrative payments from taxpayer-funded sources — for contracting with local governments and public education entities.
In the case of the latest “Immigration Client Alert,” Drummond Woodsum may be advising its local school clients to take steps that could draw the ire — and potential legal sanction — of the federal Department of Justice.
President Donald Trump’s administration, both before and after his inauguration on January 20, has stated that it will enforce existing U.S. laws and prosecute government officials who hinder, undermine, or impede federal immigration enforcement.
On January 21, one day after he was sworn into office, President Trump’s Department of Justice issued a memo under the Acting Deputy Attorney General underscoring the administration’s willingness to target state and local officials with criminal penalties if they interfere with immigration enforcement actions.
From the memo:
The Supremacy Clause and other authorities require state and local actors to comply with the Executive Branch’s immigration enforcement initiatives. Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration- related commands and requests pursuant to, for example, the President’s extensive Article Il authority with respect to foreign affairs and national security, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Alien Enemies Act. The U.S. Attomey’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution, including for obstructing federal functions in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, and violations of other statutes, such as 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324, 1373. Declination decisions with respect 10 resistance, obstruction, or other non-compliance with lawful immigration-related commands and requests from federal authorities shall be disclosed as Urgent Reports pursuant to Justice Manual § 1-13.130.
Finally, laws and actions that threaten to impede Executive Branch immigration initiatives, including by prohibiting disclosures of information to federal authorities engaged in immigration enforcement activities, threaten public safety and national security. The Civil Division shall work with the newly established Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group. within the Office of the Associate Attorney General, to identify state and local laws, policies, and activities that are inconsistent with Executive Branch immigration initiatives and, where appropriate, to take legal action to challenge such laws.
Here’s the full memo:
Border Czar Tom Homan, the former ICE Director under Trump’s last term in office, addressed far-left critics of the president’s immigration policies two days after Inauguration Day in an interview with Fox & Friends.
“Help, work with us because you’ve forced us in the community. Here’s what’s going to happen. We’ll find the bad guy, but when we find him, he’s going to be with others, others that may not be a criminal priority. But guess what? If they’re in the United States illegally, they’re going to be arrested, too,” Homan said.
“Sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want — more agents in the communities, more people arrested, more collaterals arrested. So that’s a game they want to play? Game on,” said Homan.
The long-time law enforcement official said that ICE would initially be focused on targeting the most serious criminal offenders, including those convicted of or suspected of crimes in the U.S. or other countries.
“We’re concentrating on the worst first, the public safety threats and national security threats,” Homan said. “And just yesterday, in the last 24 hours, ICE arrested over 308… serious criminals. Some of them were murderers. Some of them were rapists. Some of them raped a child. Some were sexual assault of a child.”
The Drummond Woodsum memo was distributed under the names of Kelsey M. Cromie and Abigail W. Silsby. Cromie is part of the firm’s School Law Practice Group, while Silsby is part of its School Law and Labor and Employment Groups. Here’s the full Drummond Woodsum memo instructing schools on how to undermine federal law enforcement:
Naturally, Drummond Woodsum’s website homepage consists of a “Land Acknowledgement” in which the firm professes its guilt for having constructed its law office head quarters on land “stolen” from indigenous tribes.
To wit, the law firm has not indicated when it plans to return the real estate to the tribes.


What is wrong with these people. Time to drop some illegals in their office building, neighborhoods. I bet most if the lawyers have nice big homes with plenty of extra space. Heck I bet they may have a second vacation home that is sitting empty.
“Sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want — more agents in the communities, more people arrested, more collaterals arrested. So that’s a game they want to play? Game on,” said Homan
My money is on Homan, not the Leftist hypocrites at Drummond Woodsum.
Now that I think about it, this will make it easier, find the kids with no records.
Great advertising for a business that defends Crimmels
Crooked and Creepy D/W has been a thorn in the side of most educators for years. Nothing good comes from their “legal” advice to districts. Irony has always been they protect the dregs of society while the taxpayers and teachers are harassed and demonized by their lawyers. Tom Homan 1 Me schools/DW 0
The Center for Immigration Studies said there were between 225,000 to 250,000 U.S. births to illegal immigrants in 2023. To put the figure into context, those figures are greater than the total number of births in all but two states taken individually. Legal immigrants accounted for 12.4% (494,000) of all births and illegal immigrants accounted for 7.5% (297,000).
So if they’re advising schools to break the law, shouldn’t they be sued and have their license pulled? Or maybe that’s the plan, schools follow the advice, get banged for breaking the law, and then sue the law firm for illegal advice. Brilliant.
Lawyers advising clients to destroy records? Has anyone asked the Bar Association their take on this?
To receive Federal funds, schools are REQUIRED to keep the records proposed to be destroyed. And not mentioned are immunization records.
And these two twits are wrong about FERPA (AKA the Bucklry Amendment).
See: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/ferpa#0.1_se34.1.99_135
this could get interesting…
Yes, destroy them. At a minimum all such records should be kept under lock and key, along with records kept by the school nurse. take it a step further than that by regulating who it may be released to, and also curtail access among the employees so nobody can snoop. Use a shredder when discarding paper copies. In health care, this is now common practice.
Such law firms are ENEMIES of ‘We the People’!
Again, the biggest problem w public education is not the teachers, the unions, the kids, parents or admin.
It s the lawyers
They add to the expense, and substract from the results
Parasites
Idiotic legal advice like this is going to bring Tom Holman and the rest of ICE right to the front door of every Portland school! Great job by a stupid bunch of lawyers! C’mon man
Maybe they should do some free work for the poor/ Really show their worth.
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atleast 320,000 immigrant children missing under the biden admin… and now this…. maybe there is a connection to the dept of educations pedo problem!
This law firm is being paid with our tax dollars to come up with this stuff. Interesting that when Texas tried to protect its own border the feds screamed supremacy clause.
Make Trumps and Homan’s Day.
The NSA has copies of any and all records that they think they have destroyed.
Criminals covering their tracks. Classic tactic
Can someone please submit all
of the above Infirmation to ICE.The law firm involved should be charged with TREASON .
Please forward to X and Truth
The morally bankrupt legal system advising the morally bankrupt school administrators to aid and abet illegal alien criminals. We the people reject the
normalization of corruption within these institutions. The Mills dynasty deliberately seeking to rapidly bankrupt the state of Maine and the LEGAL CITIZENS is an illogical and corrupt way forward for New England.
§456. Tampering with public records or information
1. A person is guilty of tampering with public records or information if he:
A. Knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of any record, document or thing belonging to, or received or kept by the government, or required by law to be kept by others for the information of the government; or [PL 1975, c. 499, §1 (NEW).]
B. Presents or uses any record, document or thing knowing it to be false, and with intent that it be taken as a genuine part of information or records referred to in subsection 1, paragraph A; or [PL 1975, c. 499, §1 (NEW).]
C. Intentionally destroys, conceals, removes or otherwise impairs the verity or availability of any such record, document or thing, knowing that he lacks authority to do so. [PL 1975, c. 499, §1 (NEW).]
[PL 1975, c. 499, §1 (NEW).]
2. Tampering with public records or information is a Class D crime.
Sounds like Drummond Woodsum are advising people to break the law. Disbar every one of the SOBs. In every school that dose this, jail every school superintendent. They get paid to administer the schools, ergo they are responsible for what goes on.
“A leading progressive law firm in Maine” You are too kind in employing the term “progressive”. I wonder how many members of this large, and well paying, law firm are also members of the Communist Party of America?
How do we report Mills and leftist mayors and this law firm to Homan/ICE and DOGE??
It’s easy to find Waldo when he stands up and waves at you.
@jhonny rocket, lmao!!! So true. I hope this doesn’t end well for Dr ummmond
Identify all employees of D/W and make them “Scared” to leave their House…..Go to the store ……Send their Kids to school ….
I don’t understand this. If the public has the right to see certain records, how can records be destroyed? I realize that there may be materials in student records, such as academic performance, which might be exempt from public disclosure. But is everything exempt from public disclosure just because it’s in a students records?
What if 30 students Had hepatitis? Wouldn’t the public be able to find out how many students in the school had hepatitis, without naming the names? The destruction of records seems reckless and lawless. I don’t see how such advice could’ve been given.
Aren’t these idiots subject to the same bar rules of professional conduct. Isn’t it illegal for a lawyer to encourage breaking the law. Has anyone asked our AG what he’s going to do about this illegal act? Imagine if D&W took steps to promote other crimes? Or have they? Have these idiots adopted a firm wide bias based on political beliefs? That would be illegal.
Someone needs to get the AG ball rolling, and the Bar Board of Overseers.
illegal lawyers, probably with a great big check from the Soros boys, telling teachers to go ahead and break the law to protect illegal immigrants… you know who’s gonna take the hit for that right, teachers? hint: it’s not gonna be the lawyers…. sounds like there is no more law…
Time to arrest anyone who violates federal law throw a few educators in jail awhile and destroy this law firm
Wow. Lots of extremely bitter racists in the comments. Is this really what you think America stands for? How do y’all feel knowing that you’re acting exactly like the Germans did in1940? I saw a video of a WWII veteran breaking down in tears because he fought against the ultimate evil only to come home and find his fellow Americans become the very thing he fought to prevent.
He said, “we lost so many good men, and for what?What did they die for? Why am I here?” That, to me, says more than I ever could.
Disbar!
The attorneys responsable for this legal advice should be reported to the state and have their liscences revoked!
Thanks for spreading the advice, c.uck. I’ll make sure other states’ schools get this advice as well.
Why do you hate children Maine Wire? Kind of psychopathic
Wordy, and lacking integrity, my review for the article and most of the comments
“These should not be kept as part of the educational record” is just a legal fact. They are not advocating breaking the law, and this is fear mongering bullshit.
You are spreading misinformation. You also seem to be obsessed with hating on DW according to your other articles. Do your research and stop spewing bullshit
This law firm is advising that schools destroy evidence of crimes. Destroying evidence is a crime IS a crime. I would advise these schools to consult with competent attorneys who don’t have a political agenda.