Topic: Policing Our Children
READ: Rethinking Schools on ICE (read the intro and choose a few articles to read. What are the key issues you notice? Do these texts resonate with you in your own youth contexts?)
Introduction: Kicking ICE Out of Our
Schools and Communities
Beginning:
The introduction starts with a story of a cook and father of 2 young boys that was stopped and shot and killed by ICE while he was on his way to work, trying to flee from ICE. The boys' schools are largely Latino. Just a week prior, President Trump threatened Chicago by referencing the famous Viet Nam war movie "Apocalypse Now" threatening war on the city of Chicago with deportations. In Trump's words, he wrote “I love the smell of deportations in the morning” to accompany an image, and added, “Chicago (is) about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”.
Middle:
The article states that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed in July, funds the largest increase in immigration enforcement spending in U.S. history by slashing funds for Medicaid and food assistance that millions of Americans rely on. The introduction also mentions that Trump removed the protections of schools, hospitals, and churches as protected zones of immigration enforcement. Even U.S. citizens who are children are being deported with their parents. ICE has been compared to the Gestapo with the way that while in civilian clothes with masks on in unmarked cars, they are kidnapping children off the streets. The introduction continues that the Trump Administration is trying to make an example out of Los Angeles, with its large Hispanic population. This article states that schools and educators are fighting back. "One of the most effective educator organizations repelling Trump’s attacks has been the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU)."
Conclusion:
The introduction also continues that the curriculum in schools should reflect the history of the policies of the United States, including detailing the racist myths regarding immigration. The introduction concludes that ICE was established as policy in 2003 out of post 9-11 fear.
Main Argument:
The Rethinking Schools editorial "Kicking ICE Out of Our Schools and Communities" argues that immigration enforcement is incompatible with a safe learning environment and that schools must act as "sanctuary spaces". It advocates for educator activism to protect students from the trauma and absenteeism caused by immigration enforcement in communities. (Note: I created the Main Argument utilizing an A.I. prompt.)
Article: LA Educators vs. ICE
Beginning:
This article starts off by saying that an educator with young children who teaches in a Los Angeles neighborhood had been having lower attendance in their classrooms due to the presence of ICE in their neighborhoods, and on their last day of school their daughter's day care went into lockdown due to ICE.
Middle:
The LA Educators vs. ICE article continues that resistance enacted included community patrols in the area. Also, with the nation's 2nd largest teacher's union being in Los Angeles, additional measures were put in place. ICE was even targeting local graduation ceremonies. Teachers made strong organizers as part of the planning and resistance efforts.
Conclusion:
These continued ICE raids separated students from engaging in different activities, due to the continued threat. From the article: "In California, about one in five K–12 students come from mixed status families, meaning at least one parent is undocumented. Every school day, these students face the possibility of coming home to find a close family member missing." Besides the continued community patrols, residents put together mutual aid efforts, including food distributions. In addition, per the article, "Educators continue to hold trainings across Los Angeles and with each new kidnapping, there are more staff, parents, and community members willing to get involved."
Main Argument:
"Now Is the Time to Defend Our Students: LA Educators vs. ICE" by Maya Suzuki Daniels and Elijah Chiland argues that educators have a moral obligation to protect students from immigration enforcement by organizing community defense outside the classroom. The authors, who co-founded the Harbor Area Peace Patrol, contend that resisting ICE activity and creating "safe zones" are essential, proactive responses to the trauma and decreased school attendance caused by immigration enforcement. (Note: I created the Main Argument utilizing an A.I. prompt.)
Article: Recipes for Resistance
Students, Families, and Teachers Confront
ICE Through Community
Beginning: This article starts with a classroom setting in an elementary school classroom in Washington D.C. during the winter of 2025, that during a mini-lesson a student shared a piece of scrap paper with the teacher. “My mom, she gave me this. Is her number and my sister’s number. She tell me, si la migra me lleva, no tengo que decir nada [if ICE takes me, I shouldn’t say anything] and I have to call her and call my sister.” This stunned the teacher, who told the student that we love you, and will fight for you.
Middle: This continues with "Since the second inauguration of Trump, these stories have become commonplace at the dual-language school where I teach in Washington, D.C. Kids come to school carrying emergency plans in their backpacks and worries in their hearts. Our school’s administration responded to the unfolding crisis with immediacy.". Some of the actions that this school has implemented includes Know Your Rights sessions and partnering with organizations in the community. One example includes partnering with the Washington Youth Garden, to establish a space for students to do outdoor learning. An event that they established was to have a cooking night, all in Spanish, to strengthen bonds in the community and to celebrate their culture.
Conclusion: The recipe that this group utilized were family recipes for home-made salsa. These were families recipes from a 2nd grade teacher at the school. From the article: "We organized our communication strategy. We used every possible method to reach out to families and encourage them to come. We first created a flier in Spanish advertising the event and distributed it to teachers in each grade level to pass out to their classes." By partnering with the Washington Youth Garden including with supplies and advertising, particularly in Spanish, the school was able to create a successful event which celebrated their culture. Students even made the salsas themselves! This is a good example of community resilience in the face of adversity, including the constant threats of ICE raids. A key result of this initiative was that families were more open about their experience with ICE and their feelings and fears, and steps that they and the collective community were taking in spite of this. "Resistance, like salsa, can be simple and spicy."
Main Argument:
Ross Irons argues in Rethinking Schools that schools must function as sanctuaries, protecting students and families from immigration enforcement by nurturing both their physical safety and emotional well-being through community-building activities. The article posits that sharing food and cultural heritage acts as a form of resistance that sustains community spirit against the trauma of ICE raids.(Note: I created the Main Argument utilizing an A.I. prompt.)
Key Issues and Personal Reflections and Connections: How Do These Texts Resonate?
- The introduction and articles deal with the threat of ICE and their policies with kidnappings and active deportations.
- With the day care in Los Angeles, due to the reports of ICE being in the neighborhood with the threat of deportations, my own school had a lockdown this school year due to a report of ICE in the neighborhood, which I mentioned in previous blogs.
- In my blog last week, I mentioned how there is resistance to ICE in Minnesota, and it is mentioned in this week's articles that there is also resistance measures to ICE in other cities including Los Angeles and Chicago, including by educators.
- These texts resonate because we also had some resistance in my school in Rhode Island, with students participating in a walk out to protest the actions by ICE, as mentioned in one of my previous blogs.
- These texts link to prior texts including ("Other People's Children" by Lisa Delpit), regarding the culture of power, who has it, and who doesn't (minorities and underrepresented people).
- My church offers regular food distributions, including having a food pantry and providing meals. This connects to the reading where Los Angeles residents banned together to provide mutual aid including food in response to ICE's local presence and threats.
- These texts relate as each article states that schools must act as sanctuaries, including to protect from social injustice.
- Minneapolis is continuing to fight back verses ICE (article and video attached below).
- The resistance to ICE referenced in these articles also tie into the recent "No Kings" protests occurring around the United States.
- At my school, Highlander Charter School in Warren, we also have a high percentage of multi-lingual students with a strong Spanish heritage. Often the lunch service that we cater offers Spanish influenced meals, along with other cultures.
- Also, with our school's morning announcements, they often do them in both English and Spanish, which is a show of welcoming.
- For the past 2 weeks, at the beginning of our school day upon the buses arrivals, our school is placing large outdoor music speakers at the main entrance of the school, playing uplifting music, including in Spanish, as students arrive.
- This welcoming with music action is something that was suggested by our visit by the "Peace Warriors" from the Chicago Public Schools a couple of weeks ago, that I have mentioned in my previous blogs and in our graduate class at RIC. These Peace Warriors promote non-violence and kindness in their community. They also recruit new members to perpetuate this in their communities and beyond. When they were at our school, they observed our classes, including a few of their teachers and students, along with our teachers and students, in a collaborative effort. A part of the Peace Warriors' philosophy is to have "Peace Circles" as part of a restorative practice.
- I can also tie the Chicago Public Schools with the part-time graduate MBA program that I attended at Babson College in the mid to late 1990's, and I remember that we studied a Harvard Business School case study on the Chicago Public Schools as part of my graduate Organizational Behavior class. This stands out to me since I studied business and was a Management major, and we typically didn't study education and schools.
- At my school, as part of another outreach program, a speaker came to our school to talk about grants that are available for students, including for community service and creating business and fundraising opportunities. A senior at the high school where I teach in Warren, is having a fundraiser with an afternoon at a hall in Pawtucket, where her family will be cooking family recipes from where they are from, Cape Verde, the Sunday prior to Rhode Island April school break, in order to celebrate their culture and to raise funds for those from their greater community. Tickets in advance are $20. The student who is running this fundraiser, who goes by Lisa, did an announcement during the morning announcement this past Friday, and mentioned that you also can buy tickets at the door. There is also a flyer on my classroom door at school advertising this event.
Technology, Links, Videos, Other Texts, References, and Additional Connections:
(My church's food pantry and food distributions)
(Article reference that I featured in my Blog last week)
(Federal response in Minneapolis)
(Minneapolis is our home. Minneapolis waa gurigeena.)
(No Kings Protests including actor Robert DeNiro's interview)
