‘Rightly fearful’: Teachers and parents rally against ICE at FDR High School

Public school teachers and parents rallied last week outside Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s access to school campuses.

Attendees held handmade signs reading, “Black, Brown, Asian, White, All Unite for Immigrants’ Rights” and “Support Immigrants and Transgender Students.”

The March 5 event was organized by the Committee to Defend Immigrants, a group established by FDR union members.

“Right now, as the federal government ramps up mass deportations, having already lifted restrictions on ICE entering schools, and targeting other vulnerable sectors, students across NYC are rightly fearful,” a spokesperson from the committee told Brooklyn Paper. “Many have stopped attending school in fear of deportation. The mayor’s orders to ‘not interfere’ if immigration police try to enter schools only makes matters worse.”

The outcry from public school teachers follows Mayor Eric Adams’ apparent directive for city workers to allow federal agents, including ICE officers, access to schools, hospitals and shelters. These locations were traditionally protected from immigration enforcement under New York’s sanctuary city laws.

After swift backlash, City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus rebutted the criticisms to Brooklyn Paper’s sister publication amNewYork Metro, saying they were rooted in misinformation.

“Let’s be very clear: anyone perpetuating the claim that New York City is instructing city employees to simply open doors for federal law enforcement, including ICE, is spreading misinformation that only fuels anxiety within immigrant communities and our city’s workforce,” Mamelak Altus said in a statement.

The spokesperson explained that the Jan. 13 memo “outlines a series of steps for city workers on how to respond to non-local law enforcement attempting to enter city property,” such as “asking for an agent’s credentials, asking for a warrant, and contacting the agency’s general counsel.”

Mamelak Altus further stated that city agencies had gamed out a number of scenarios in planning appropriate responses, such as if law enforcement were looking for a wanted, violent criminal.

“This is a rapidly evolving situation, and, as a result, we are in the process of finalizing further guidance for city workers to follow if they encounter federal law enforcement attempting to enter a building,” she added.

Still, opponents have continued to push back.

“Eric Adams sent a guidance to city workers, encouraging them to give away the power that the law has granted them. He has told city workers that if they feel intimidated by an ice officer, they should open the doors of our schools, of our hospitals,” Co-Director of the New York Working Families Party Ana María Archila said at a Feb. 9 rally outside City Hall. “The mayor has betrayed immigrant families. The mayor has betrayed all New Yorkers.”

The mayor’s memo aside, Yari Michel, a teacher at FDR High School, told Brooklyn Paper she noticed a drop in student attendance immediately after the election.

“ We want to make sure students are protected because if ICE does enter the schools, this isn’t just going to impact the one student that they could potentially be looking for,” Michel said. “This would have a rippling, chilling effect on every student regardless of immigration status. And it would also have the same impact, I believe, on teachers.”

No ICE raids have been reported in Brooklyn public schools since the last election.

Administrators at FDR High School were not immediately available for comment. The city’s Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.