As Chicago braces for President Trump’s action to send ICE—and possibly the National Guard—to Chicago, many are concerned about the precedent this might set. In response to this incoming threat, the teachers of Lane Tech helped organize and participate in a schoolwide walk-in that took place on Sept. 5.

“We’re sending the message that we stand in solidarity and in support of all of our CPS students and staff members because a lot of them are very, very afraid of these threats,” said music teacher Javier Payano. “It’s really to send a message to our students and our parents that we’re here to serve them, to protect them, and to keep them safe as much as we possibly can. It’s to raise awareness of what’s happening, and also to have a plan in place.”

Payano said that CPS and the Union have a plan of action if agents were to approach a CPS school. “The first thing is that there is no release of any child or anything like that,” Payano said. “We’re not to release any students to the custody of any kind of agent. We’re to immediately call the main office and we’re immediately to call administration, so the administration can come down and support whatever the situation is.”

Ensuring the safety of students and staff is also incredibly important as it contributes to their overall mental well-being and productivity in school. “Because of students feeling safe, they feel, number one, that they belong, and number two, they can actually learn something,” Payano said.

Senior Nevaeh Salazar also commented on the current CPS policy for students’ protection. “I hate that uncertainty [of not knowing what happens after the school administration arrives to deal with the situation], I don’t like that at all. I think ‘hate’ is a really strong word, but I think for the situation, that’s so appropriate. They shouldn’t even be allowed in school in the first place and now that they are, it’s so obscure,” Salazar said. “School and education should be a thing that every student has the opportunity for and it’s the fact that students are having to worry about that.”

Although she said she feels that the walk-in was an overall good thing, Salazar still believes that more could be done such as further educating classes about the situation.

While some students may be upset about the potential changes that are finding their way into Chicago, senior Andrew Kusar approves of the possibility of the National Guard and ICE coming to the city. “I would like it to happen here, I think that at the city and state level, we are very poorly run and we don’t know what’s good for us and someone has to step in and enforce the laws that exist,” Kusar said.

Kusar also expressed how he felt that CPS and the Union’s policy of not cooperating with ICE is not helpful. “I think, for their own sake and for the sake of everyone involved, that they should [cooperate with ICE],” Kusar said.

Science teacher Cameron Blome, who participated in the 6:45 a.m. walk-in that day (there was a second walk-in at 7:45 a.m.), shared his thoughts on the threat of the National Guard coming to Chicago and the walk-in’s significance. 

“This directly impacts us and the people that we are with and the people that we teach. Teaching is not just a job, it’s a human endeavor; our students are humans and we care about them. This type of thing is causing lots of disruptions at the very least. A lot of people are scared, and even that causes disruptions, and it negatively impacts your life,” Blome said. “At the worst, people are getting deported or are getting arrested, and these types of things could break up families and that’s very traumatic which is just terrible for the kids and it’s terrible for learning.”

Along with the plan CPS and the Union have to ensure staff and students’ safety, Payano and World Language teacher Celeste Ramovic have shared some additional helpful resources.

“There’s something called the Family Support Hotline and it’s from ICIRR which is the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights,” Ramovic said. “There’s a lot of different member organizations, but they’re the hub of immigrant rights organizing in the city and they have a hotline where people can verify that they saw ICE, if they saw someone get apprehended, or if there’s a concern they can call the hotline.” 

Ramovic also said, “ICIRR has some really good know your rights resources that they keep updated regularly so that’s one of the best resources. The other one is the First Defense Legal Aid which is less immigration focused, but has attorneys on call for people and it’s a legal aid hotline and that number is 1-800-LAWREP4. Those are two resources that are really important for people that come into contact with whatever iteration of federal officials and police they experience.”

Payano mentioned that the CTU is another great resource for those in need of assistance, especially since they are connected to other helpful organizations. 

Another strong resource, according to Salazar, is the Lane Tech Latin Student Association (LASA) Club Instagram page. “I think that’s a really good resource and I think the best we can do as a community, outside of teachers, is to continue posting resources on our personal pages, but in terms of teachers and their actions, I feel like it’s not that relevant,” Salazar said.

While it is unclear whether President Trump is still considering sending in the National Guard to Chicago, according to CNN, the city still braces for any upcoming changes that might arise. Payano commented on how the walk-in was also a way for CPS and the Union to show that they are not afraid. “We’re going to do everything that we can to protect our students. Chicago is a resilient city—we’ve been through a lot as a city, in the history of the city, and we’ll get through this too.”

Resources Mentioned:

ICIRR Family Support Network (FSN)

• (855) 435-7693

First Defense Legal Aid

• 1-800-529-7374 or 1-800-LAWREP4Lane Tech 

Lane Tech LASA Club Instagram

• lt_lasa