A federal judge has ruled against Denver Public Schools’ attempt to stop immigration officials from raiding school grounds, marking a victory for the Trump administration as it seeks to intensify deportation efforts.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico, a Trump appointee, determined that the district failed to prove that the recent decline in student attendance was caused by the administration reversing a 2021 Biden-era policy that protected schools—and other sensitive locations like churches—from ICE raids.

Currently, more than 1.4 million individuals remain on ICE’s final order of removal docket, Fox Newsreported.

Denver Public Schools had filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, arguing that the policy reversal had “hindered its mission” by instilling fear in students, leading to lower attendance.

The school district had requested a preliminary injunction to stop federal arrests at sensitive locations—a request that was denied. Judge Domenico also refused to issue a nationwide injunction that would have required immigration officials to revert to the 2021 guidance, Fox added.

In addition to citing a drop in attendance, the district argued that it had to divert resources to address the fear among students and families following the lifting of longstanding protections. The school system claimed that revoking the policy forced schools to invest time and resources in educating students and staff on staying safe during immigration enforcement encounters. For instance, staff have been trained to refuse entry to ICE officers unless they possess a warrant signed by a judge.

But Domenico, a former solicitor general for Colorado, noted that it was unclear how much of the fear was directly caused by the new rules versus broader concerns about heightened immigration enforcement actions.

Domenico commented that both the alarm over the new rules and the belief that the old rules provided school protection appear to be “overstated.”

“The lawsuit was brought by the school district, not the city of Denver, which is a sanctuary city. The lawsuit stated that there were more than 90,000 students in the Denver Public Schools system during the 2023-2024 school year, and approximately 4,000 were immigrants,” Fox added.