Since his inauguration for a second term in January, President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to send the National Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to San Francisco and other Democratic cities. In other parts of the country, ICE agents have acted cruelly and without justification to detain and search people. The Trump administration has detained people in inhumane facilities, and has deported some to foreign countries without due process, violating fundamental constitutional rights. ICE and Trump have been stretching the bounds of democratic norms and law enforcement everywhere, violating laws and court rulings as well.
Trump has attempted to justify these actions by using rhetoric that vilifies immigrants, generalizing them as criminals and rapists. The reality is that the majority of these immigrants are not threats to our country, but rather normal law-abiding people trying to get through their day-to-day lives.
ICE has had a long-standing policy to avoid targeting “sensitive locations” like schools, hospitals, and churches. In his first days as president, however, Trump reversed this policy in an executive order. The freedom to worship and a right to an education are basic rights that all U.S. residents have, regardless of their citizenship status. Actions to curtail these rights make it clear that Trump is not acting to protect U.S. citizens, but rather to instill fear. And it works.
While this may seem like a distant national issue, it has a very concrete local effect. The Lowell felt that this was an important topic to cover, and considered writing a news feature about student experiences with–and fears about–ICE. However, in fear of endangering Lowell students and drawing ICE’s attention to Lowell, we ultimately decided to prioritize student safety and not to pursue the story. This is just one example of the chilling effect these policies have — if a high school publication in San Francisco doesn’t feel like it’s safe to talk to students about immigration status, imagine how similar fears are impacting smaller publications across the U.S. This is just one example of how our president is using ICE to instill fear and indirectly suppress speech. We, The Lowell, condemn the use of ICE, a government organization, to intimidate and threaten U.S. residents.
This atmosphere of fear extends to those living in San Francisco, including Lowell students, some of whom may be undocumented immigrants themselves or have family members or friends who are. This fear is damaging to both students and our community as a whole. If students fear coming to school, and if teachers worry about how they will protect their students in the event of ICE presence at schools, neither are able to fully dedicate their attention to the classroom. These concerns are severely detrimental to the learning environment of our schools. Our schools should be a safe place for all students, no matter their background or home life.
San Francisco is formally considered a sanctuary city, which means that the city will refuse to aid ICE unless legally required to do so. In the case of ICE coming to a school site, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) policy 3.6.6 indicates that ICE will be redirected to the SFUSD legal team and forced to show a judicial warrant. The State of California has also put legislation in place to restrict ICE actions, preventing agents from wearing masks that cover their faces or working without clear identification. The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit in response to California’s legislation restricting ICE, claiming that these laws violate federal authority. But, despite California and SFUSD’s policies, it is unclear whether ICE agents will comply.
The Lowell stands against these infringements on constitutional rights. The first amendment, which guarantees the right to free speech and the freedom of the press, among others, is the foundation of our democracy, and education is essential to our society. If our government fails to guarantee these rights, then it is failing the people of the U.S., and this should be a concern to all Americans.
