Chicago Teacher Arrest Proves ICE & Police Have No Place in Schools
November 6, 2025
Washington, DC — In response to reports of ICE agents detaining a teacher at Chicago preschool Rayito del Sol, racial justice organizations Advancement Project and the Alliance for Educational Justice issued the following statement:
“Neither ICE nor police have any place in or around our nation’s schools. Despite lies from federal officials, this event is proof that ICE and other law enforcement is terrorizing immigrants and communities of color. Toddlers and young children cried as they witnessed armed agents violently arrest their teacher. We cannot stand by while our communities are terrorized and children traumatized. No child should have to choose between going to school and staying safe. We are calling on all school leaders — whether they serve as public school superintendents or school board members, or are school leaders of a public or private school — to do everything in their power to protect immigrant students,” said Adaku Onyeka-Crawford, Director of the Opportunity to Learn Program at Advancement Project.
“We are at a crossroads: either we defend every child’s right to learn, or we allow fear and racism to dictate how children experience schools. Education leaders must invest in resources and services that make school welcoming for immigrant students and families such as counselors, newcomer programs, physical and health professionals, and restorative justice. Let us be clear: policing infrastructure, including school police officers, security guards, and surveillance do not make our communities safer. We denounce the administration’s efforts to expand the school-to-prison-to-deportation pipeline and continue to call on school and city leaders to keep immigration enforcement away from our children,” said Leidy Robledo, National Co-Director at Alliance for Educational Justice.
Advancement Project’s Adaku Onyeka Crawford and Alliance for Educational Justice’s Leidy Robledo are available for interviews to discuss why federal and local law enforcement must get out of schools, how data shows that federal immigration activity is inhumane and affecting students’ school attendance and mental health, and what solutions schools and leaders can implement to ensure students, families and communities remain safe.
Background:
Advancement Project and the Alliance for Educational Justice launched the “Protecting Immigrant Students Action Kit” as part of an ongoing call to school boards and education leaders across the country to protect immigrant students from immigration enforcement in and around schools. The toolkit features six demands including to:
You can learn more about the demands and solutions here.
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Advancement Project is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. We are a co-convener of the National Campaign for Police Free schools, a formation of 20+ youth-led grassroots organizations fighting to end the criminalization of youth in the classroom, create liberatory educational spaces, and implement an affirmative vision of safety and transformative justice. Visit www.advancementproject.org to learn more.
