The New York Department of Education, the largest in the U.S., and immigrant aid organizations on Wednesday assured this community that schools are safe for their children, before the start of the new school year on September 4 and the continuous raids carried out by the Administration of President Donald Trump.
“Our schools are a safe place, where your child will be cared for and valued. This year we will continue to support our newcomers,” said Education Chancellor Melissa Avilés Ramos to the thousands of immigrant parents who fear sending their children to school and having themselves or the children detained by Immigration agents, even though in theory such arrests are not allowed in schools or churches.
Avilés Ramos said during a joint press conference that they will continue to support the immigrant community with various actions such as the resource fair to provide them with access to food, clothing, hygiene products and connect them with organizations that provide guidance in various areas.
He further noted that they have trained thousands of New York City school employees in protocols for dealing with forces, which they will continue to do.
While Mary Vaccaro, vice president of the United Federation of Teachers, the main union in the Department of Education representing some 200,000 members, reiterated the message to parents not to be afraid.
“They are afraid to put their child on the bus because they don’t know who will be waiting when they get to school,” she said during the conference in front of the Department of Education headquarters, steps away from city hall.
“We don’t want them to be afraid to go into those schools because they are a safe and welcoming environment,” he said and further asked parents to give their information to teachers upon arrival at their child’s school by assuring that it will not be shared with immigration. It will only be used to locate them if their child becomes ill, she said.
He also assured the immigrants that school personnel will be there to greet the children when the buses arrive on campus and will escort them to their respective classrooms.
Among the groups present was also the International Network for Public Schools, which operates 17 public schools for immigrants in this city and assured that “they are ready” to receive them on September 4. The middle and high school has students from 100 countries and 99 languages are spoken.
For its part, the Immigration Coalition, which convened the conference, indicated that they have worked with the Department of Education and other pro-immigrant organizations to produce educational material to orient immigrants about their rights and what to do in an encounter with Immigration, which is available on the web.
He stressed that a main point is for parents to have a document ready naming a guardian for their children if they are detained as part of the Trump administration’s policy of mass deportations, EFE reported.
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