There has never been a policy prohibition against ICE agents targeting churches or schools for detaining people. It has been a moral/humanitarian principle of practice. And, even though previous administrations have not been especially moral/humanitarian in their treatment of immigrant families and our students, they have at least upheld that guideline. With its new directives encouraging ICE to target churches and schools, the new administration has abandoned any commitment to morality or humanitarianism, so we need to do even more to attempt to keep our students and their families safe.
While we are working to build an even bigger coalition and engage with more partners, our primary relationship in this work right now is with Siembra NC, an organization that has chapters and work throughout the state, primarily working to build support and resources to protect NC’s Latine community from exploitation and violence. We encourage members to engage with their work, especially the trainings that they offer for ICE verifiers in our communities.
We’re sharing the following resources because we know that educators, and our union locals, are looking for ways to step up to defend our students and their families.
Resource List
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Know Your Rights “Red Cards.” Red cards are a printable resource (available in multiple languages) from the Immigration Resource Legal Center that can be distributed/carried for easy-to-follow tips for dealing with ICE. Please share these widely!
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School Crisis Playbook: Deportation Response (from Fugees Family)
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Safe Zone Resources. It is important for our school boards and/or Superintendents to create a policy in which ICE (or any law enforcement agency for that matter) needs to follow a process that a) requires a signed warrant and b) goes through the district’s central office, rather than showing up at the doors of schools.
