Protecting ALL students

February 24,  2017


A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.” A. Phillip Randolph
Children in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands requesting stability and green cards for their non-citizen parents who lived, worked and paid taxes in the CNMI for 10, 20, 30 or more years.
CTA supports every student, every teacher, every family member and every community member every day. We believe that schools must be safe zones and secure havens for every student, no matter where they came from, what their ethnicity or their religious beliefs. Our school doors must remain open to every child and parent regardless of their immigration status.

The new executive orders, including the Muslim ban, the pledge to build a wall and the immigration memos intended to expedite deportations, have inspired school districts, churches, organizations and cities across the nation to pass resolutions to declare protective sanctuaries for children and families. Indeed, our union hall and our schools must be sanctuaries.
Immigration is a personal issue to me and to my family. My husband, some of my children and many of our close relatives are recent immigrants to the United States. Since the 1980’s I have advocated for the nonresident workers and families who live legally in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. I spent over a decade there as an educator and human rights advocate speaking out against human trafficking, and labor and human rights abuses. 
Since 1995 I had the privilege of testifying before the U.S. Congress on labor and immigration issues and was contracted by the Clinton Administration in 1998 to document the status of the foreign workers and their U.S. citizen children. I still advocate for them today because I believe that no family should be torn apart, that no child should live in fear, and that no nonresident workers who dedicated 10, 20, 30 or more years of their lives working legally on U.S. soil should be denied a pathway to citizenship. I ask you to join me in standing up for every student and family member –the DREAMers, the undocumented, the refugees, and the U.S. citizens of every race, nationality and religion.
CTA stands with its national unions - AFT and NEA - who are committed to ensuring that immigrant students and their families are not torn apart by the threat of deportation. The following resources are valuable to any CTA member who has an undocumented student, family member or neighbor who feels threatened or is seeking help with documentation and legal assistance:

AFT RESOURCES




How to prepare in case of arrest by immigration agents
What to do in the event of an ICE raid
English:
Understanding immigration: Articles, profiles, resolutions and other resources


NEA RESOURCES







Download this poster:
Super DACA Defenders Comic book
English:
Legal Issues For School Districts Related to the Education of Undocumented Children
Students and Immigration Raids: What You Can Do http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/ice-raids-fact-sheet-1.pdf

No comments:

Post a Comment