Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1539593
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) members held #WelcomeBackLA events at schools across the district on the first day of school to reinforce their commitment to safe schools for all students and famiies. Educators Defend Our Immigrant Communities Organizing to protect students, families from federal attacks By Julian Peeples " A S S O C I A L J U S T I C E union educators, it is part of our charge to make sure our students feel safe in our classrooms and our families feel safe coming to our schools and participating in our school communities," says Kyle Weinberg, president of San Diego Education Association (SDEA). "We need to show we will not be intimidated by these threats from this federal administration, and we will stand up for our students because an injury to one is an injury to all." Since January, our immigrant communities, regardless of immigration status, have been under assault by federal Immi- gration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who have been profiling and accosting people in the streets — sometimes for simply having brown skin or speaking a language other than English — as part of President Trump's cruel and aggressive immigration enforcement. Masked ICE agents have been conducting raids at churches, in agricultural fields, at supermar- kets and outside public schools — like in Los Angeles, San Jose and the San Diego area in August, when ICE agents accosted and harassed people while they dropped their children off at school. Across California, educators and their local unions have stepped up to protest these actions in their communities and are working hard to ensure all students feel safe, supported and valued in classrooms. " You have to be brave knowing that some people will not agree with you. Some members of our community and even some members of our union are in favor of ICE and what they 're doing," says Emily Rogers, vice president of Glendale Teachers Association (GTA). "But we try to keep it centered on our students and their families and how this impacts them. We as an association are standing up for our students, our 14 cta.org Feature