The accusation came during a June 4 rally in Lower Manhattan that saw educators, students, parents, and politicians demand that the city’s Department of Education strengthen protections for immigrant scholars and their families.
According to Julia Garland, an elementary school teacher in Sunset Park, ICE agents have been often spotted driving by several nearby schools during morning drop-off hours, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.
“It was scary. Parents were walking their children into school, knowing ICE was right there. In some cases, they had to walk right next to the confirmed ICE vehicles with ICE agents sitting in them, and no staff at the schools knew what to do,” Garland said. “They usually target adult men who are alone, so if you are a loving father walking your child to school after you drop them off, you are in real danger.”
NYC teachers want official plan to deal with ICE
Julia Garland, NYC Public School Teacher.Photo by Dean Moses
Teachers such as Garland say they are not asking for hefty funding, but rather for a firm set of protocols to follow in the event that students or staff are accosted by federal immigration enforcement.
“We have also heard from teachers in other communities across the city that there have been ICE spottings outside the school, across the street, around the corner, down the block, and educators have wondered what to do when teachers and kids are in schools. School is all they should have to think about. They should not have to worry and be afraid of what’s going to be on the other side of the door when they leave school,” Katie Kurjakovic of the United Federation of Teachers said.
Joining the call to action, Brooklyn City Council Member Alexa Avilés reminded that 37% of New York City residents are immigrants, putting a large portion of the population at risk for the most basic of daily routines like dropping off their children at school.
“We could do the math and conjecture that the majority of public school students are impacted by what is happening here, and these egregious, abhorrent policies. It is traumatizing for the students and their families to watch community members, family members, be brutalized, dehumanized, and kidnapped in plain sight. It is also traumatizing for the students to watch each other suffer, to watch each other disappear, to live in fear of the violence that is confronting them,” Avilés said. “This sickens me to my core.”
A mother and child with a “hands off NYC” sign.Photo by Dean Moses
Those demanding action delivered a petition to a representative from the Schools Chancellor’s office with over 2,200 signatures in hopes the protocols will be updated.
amNewYork reached out to the schools chancellor‘s office and is awaiting a response.