These are uncertain times: there are mass layoffs across job sectors, budget cuts, and deportations of documented people without criminal records. It appears that nowhere and no one is safe. Even so-called progressive areas of California are under attack from the federal government.
In Oakland, educators started organizing a rapid response team after learning that undocumented students and their families were being targeted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). When under threat, educators discovered that the Oakland school district’s protocol was not working to ensure the protection of students and their families. Equivalent rapid response teams exist in San Francisco and cities across the nation to protect immigrant communities from ICE raids. In an immigration crisis, there’s a number to call to receive legal support, and if that number is unavailable there’s a sequential list of phone numbers to contact for support and protection. When Oakland educators learned from students and families that the chain of phone numbers was not working on the weekends and non-business hours due to insufficient funds and a lack of people power, they started organizing to get the rapid response system running to support the community.
Last week, ICE agents attempted to enter two elementary schools in Los Angeles to apprehend five students in first through sixth grades. The agents were dressed casually and only presented identification when asked by the principals of the schools. The agents claimed they wanted access “to the students to determine their well-being” because they had come to the United States as unaccompanied minors. They said they were authorized by the students’ caretakers to go to the campuses, but the district has since confirmed the assertion to be false after speaking with the students’ families. When the principals attempted to write down the officers’ information, the officials quickly hid their credentials. The officials were denied access to the students and asked to leave.
A federal agent presenting at a school, regardless of agency, asking for direct access to students, is suspect behavior. Educators are trained to ask for credentials, record any information they can, and examine all warrants and subpoenas. What happened in Los Angeles demonstrates that we have the power to protect our most vulnerable populations. We can fight back by standing up to the authorities illegally trying to remove people who have the right to asylum in this country. We must know our rights and assert them.
These are hard times for workers—undocumented, documented, and citizens alike. No matter our race or background, the billionaire class and their politicians have made it clear: all working people and their families are under attack. But despair is not an option. The courage of Oakland and Los Angeles educators—organizing rapid response teams, confronting ICE agents, and exposing failing systems—proves that resistance is possible. We cannot rely on the hollow promises of Democratic Party elites or the bureaucratic “solutions” designed to placate us while leaving our communities vulnerable. The Oakland ICE protocol, like so many reforms, will not be enough to shield us. We must protect each other, organize relentlessly, and fight not just to survive, but to build a world where no child fears a knock at the classroom door. Solidarity is our weapon. Let’s wield it.
