Students march against ICE and CBP in downtown Durham on Nov.19. Photo by Norah Lubeck
Every year, students have to sit through mandatory anti-bullying training. By the time we get to high school, we know it when we see it, and what’s happening to immigrant students and their families is a textbook example.
Latino students make up 38.5% of Riverside’s student body. It’s the student body’s largest demographic, and the fear that immigration agents from both Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have created is reflected in our halls and classrooms.
ICE increased its presence in NC drastically during the weekend of Nov. 15, beginning in Charlotte and then moving into the Raleigh-Durham area.
On average, Riverside High School has an attendance rate of around 85%. On the 18th, the attendance rate for students was 79% and the following day it dropped to a 65% attendance rate. While maybe not all of this was due to rising tensions, a 20% difference means around 400 more students were not in class.
Karen Keim, Riverside’s ESL graduation coach, received a massive influx of calls and emails from parents following the announcement that ICE had increased its presence in the Triangle. Many said that, out of fear, they didn’t want to send their kids to school.
“The fear is not [about] having documentation,” said Keim. “It’s just that you look a certain way. They’re gonna target you no matter what.”
The attendance issues were especially disruptive for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
“It’s been pretty dramatic,” said ESL teacher Jeremiah Safford. “We pretty much condensed all the ESL classes into two classrooms.”
Safford said that what he was told is that parents aren’t worried about the safety of actually being on campus, but more about the safety at bus stops. Fear and intimidation tactics are clear examples of bullying. In school, we’re taught to tell an adult when we witness or experience it. But when it’s coming from the federal government, we have to do more.
People are raising awareness of immigration agents’ locations and sharing information about how to avoid encounters and navigate a confrontation. There are live maps that show the locations and time stamps of arrests as well as photos of agents’ vehicles.
On Nov. 19, the local Durham community held a rally against ICE in the Plaza outside the Parlour and marched throughout downtown. Two days later, a student walkout ended with another rally downtown.
Only a very small percentage of students at Riverside are actually adults. ICE is using its authority to intimidate, bully, and create fear, and it is our responsibility to speak out.
