Fear on the school route: Chicago moves to consider remote learning amid ICE raids
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity intensifies in Chicago neighborhoods, students and educators are confronting a new reality of fear that reaches far beyond the classroom. Reports of detentions and enforcement near schools have heightened anxiety among families, prompting urgent calls from the Chicago Board of Education for emergency measures, including potential virtual learning options. The unfolding situation highlights the tension between federal enforcement operations and the need to maintain safe, accessible education for all children.The impact is deeply personal. Families and teachers describe a city where children must navigate daily routes to school under the shadow of raids, disrupting learning and eroding trust in public safety. The incident at Benito Juarez High School, where a 17-year-old student was detained en route to school during an anti-ICE protest, crystallizes the challenge facing Chicago Public Schools (CPS) as it seeks to balance educational continuity with student protection.
Student detained during anti-ICE protest
Some board members voiced their concerns just hours after the Benito Juarez student was detained, according to a letter sent to parents obtained by Chicago ABC station WLS. The student was later released without charges. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the arrest.“We have received reports of federal law enforcement activity in a nearby neighborhood, and I am very sorry to share that a member of our school community was impacted,” the letter from CPS read as reported by ABC News.
Educators express alarm over safety concerns
The incident has left educators grappling with heightened anxiety in their classrooms. “I marked a junior student absent, not because that student was sick… it was because ICE had snatched him up on his way to school,” Benito Juarez Community Academy teacher Liz Winfield told WLS. “It’s a sense of unease. It’s a sense of anger and frustration. It’s a lot of students calling in, or parents calling in saying, ‘I don’t feel safe.‘”
Board members call for virtual learning options
At Thursday’s board meeting, the discussion turned to the possibility of remote learning as a measure to safeguard students. “Our parents are asking for remote learning if possible,” board member Emma Lozano said. “It is an emergency. Period. This is an emergency right now. So we need to figure that out whether we go to the governor all together, we write a letter, we do what we have to do, we march, we do everything, but it is an emergency right now.”Board member Karen Zaccor added, “I think we all understand that it’s very difficult, a lot of obstacles to that. I’m just hoping we can figure out a way to work together to make it work for the many families that are telling us they really are too fearful to allow their children to come to school.”
CPS authority limited without governor’s approval
CPS CEO Macquline King clarified that only Illinois Governor JB Pritzker holds the authority to authorize virtual learning in emergency situations. “As a district, CPS does not have the authority to call remote learning,” she said. “We should have a remote learning plan in the event of an emergency. But if the governor does not call a state of emergency, we do not have the ability to just send the district into remote learning,” as reported by ABC News.
Students living in fear of ICE presence
Students themselves are feeling the tangible weight of ICE enforcement in their daily lives. Destiny Singleton, an honorary student member of CPS and a senior at Ogden International School of Chicago, said, “We feel the weight of ICE in our city and in our country. Students have been posting minute-by-minute updates on ICE agent locations in hopes to protect our fellow students. I feel like we shouldn’t do this because we’re children, and we shouldn’t need to protect ourselves in this way, and we are terrified.”
Chicago teachers union advocates for remote learning
The Chicago Teachers Union has also urged the district to consider remote learning to alleviate fears. “When a child stays home because their route to school feels unsafe, that’s not an attendance problem, everybody; that’s a failure of protection,” said CTU recording secretary Vicki Kurzydlo, as quoted by ABC News. “I’m hearing from educators whose classrooms are half empty because families are scared.”
Federal authorities push back against allegations
Federal authorities have sought to counter accusations that ICE is targeting schools. In a memo last month, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated, “ICE is not conducting enforcement operations at, or ‘raiding,’ schools. ICE is not going to schools to make arrests of children.”
Mayor Johnson condemns escalating enforcement
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has also taken a firm stance against federal enforcement in schools, warning that these measures exacerbate fear and disrupt learning. “The illegal deployment of the National Guard in our city and the escalation of ICE raids do nothing to keep our young people safe. In fact, it makes them afraid and disrupts their learning,” he said during an October press conference as quoted by ABC News.The school district did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.(With inputs from ABC News)
