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TEACHERS FOR IMMIGRANTS - This back-to-school season is like no other here in Southern California. Fear and coercion have invaded our communities along with masked federal agents. As a teacher of more than five decades, as a proud parent and grandparent in a family of blended immigrant heritage, I want to ask you to take a stand with me in support of immigrant students and their safety and dignity on the first day of school throughout L.A., Thursday, August 14.
This past weekend, while I attended the annual Leadership Conference of my union, UTLA, approximately 500 teachers took to the streets in Downtown L.A. They walked from the Bonaventure Hotel across the 110 Freeway to the administrative offices of the school district, LAUSD, on Beaudry Ave. Their chants echoed above the traffic noise and among the skyscrapers: “Say it loud, say it clear. Immigrants are welcome here.”
Bringing that pledge to life at hundreds of public-school sites throughout L.A. is the next challenge. Without a doubt, teachers from Pre-K through grade 12 in Los Angeles will support, defend, cherish, and advocate for ALL of our students. But can we also succeed at enlisting neighbors who steadfastly defend the safety and freedom to learn of ALL students AND the dignity and human rights of ALL our families by showing up at a local public school as students show up for the first day of classes?
The chilling effect of the Trump Administration’s lawless targeting of Angelenos for abduction, detention, and disappearance, largely without due process, is palpable throughout L.A. Feeling the burn from ICE contact, like many of us, are families of educators and law enforcement professionals. No one remains immune from this threat. And that’s with a hard-won federal court injunction in place since July 11 that blocks the “roving patrols” from targeting people here based on race and language.
Estimates are that more than 30,000 students in L.A. public schools are immigrants from other nations, some fleeing wars in Ukraine and Gaza and South Sudan. As many as 7,500 students may not have documentation as lawful residents. But welcoming and teaching immigrant students, regardless of documentation, is settled law.
A Supreme Court ruling of 1982, Plyer v. Doe, established that undocumented children have the right to a free public K-12 education. Not providing this would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
With that background, I am proud to join the sisters and brothers of my union to call for a before-school action at the front of, and surrounding, all public-school campuses in L.A. on Thursday, August 14.
As parents bring their children for the first day of school, especially at elementary schools, they will be greeted by their children’s teachers, support staff members, and volunteers.
There will be “Know Your Rights” information, “Defend Your Rights” advice, and WELCOME signs. We are asking for the physical presence of community organizations, such as churches, neighborhood councils, and other volunteers to join us.
All of these supporters will have been trained to welcome, witness, and document if any adverse attempts at intimidation or coercion present themselves. We want all of our students to know that they will be safe inside their school.
LAUSD has 23,000 “Newcomer” students. That term, determined by the state of California, applies only to students born outside of the U.S. who now live here. That would include all DACA recipients. There are thousands of other students born in the U.S. who may have returned to their parents’ country and then returned to the U.S. Immigration stories are different. And we all deserve safe place and sympathetic ears with whom to express them without fear of hostility and punishment.
But in L.A. still today, are at risk, as well as whole families. I hope that by showing up with care and conviction, with joy and generosity of spirit, the visible support and strength of neighbors and teachers united next Thursday, August 14, will be seen by ICE, or others, and might discourage them from attempting intervention. Together with my union, I hope that students and families will see that teachers AND community are on their side. That will truly make our message — “Say it loud, say it clear. Immigrants are welcome here” — hit home for students with lasting reassurance and encouragement.
Can you join in the citywide welcome on Day One of the school year? To learn more and sign up to be part of the supportive presence at your local L.A. public school, CLICK HERE. If you live on the Eastside and want to join in a welcome event locally on Aug. 14 alongside members of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), send an email to [email protected] and include your name and phone number.
(Cheryl Ortega is a classroom teacher who has taught in public schools in L.A.’s Eastside communities for more than 50 years. In 2022, she earned recognition by the East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD) as Educator of the Year in part for her advocacy for bilingual education and language access in school settings.)
