It’s been over a week since UF students learned ICE detained their fellow classmate Felipe Zapata Velásquez near campus.
Velásquez is just one of many international students affected by immigration enforcement at universities and school campuses.
These were the cruel procedures and the toxic culture spread throughout universities — a part of a bigger political fear brewing in the country, and now in the form of U.S. Immigrant Customs and Enforcement officials.
As a Florida resident and student, I know something about distress and fear for my safety on school campuses — from gun violence on school grounds to censorship in textbooks. But today, immigrant families are again feeling distress, and the bully is someone else.
Indeed, President Donald Trump’s rhetoric of immigrant criminality with the rise of immigration enforcement has made its impact on the lives of all students. Children of immigrants, and immigrant children, are no longer just fearful of the inequalities outside of school; it has followed them into their classrooms. Indeed, other bullies are entering our school grounds.
In its Freedom of Expression statement, UF states, “To achieve our goal of independent inquiry and vigorous academic deliberation, UF will not stifle the dissemination of any idea…” It adds, “UF will ensure that individuals expressing such ideas are able to do so free from bullying, violence, threat of violence or any other type of disruptive behavior.”
According to its website, Alachua County Public Schools is “committed to providing an educational setting that is safe, secure, and free from bullying and harassment for all students.” It says, “Bullying due to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or any other reason will not be tolerated.”
School administrators have these protocols and regulations in place to ensure the safety and well-being of the children. Yet, their hands are tied when it comes to protecting school children, specifically immigrant families and their children, from the biggest bullies on campus.
ICE.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers now have access to our students and our schools. Under federal and state orders, ICE officers can now enter school campuses to interrogate and remove students without a warrant.
UF will not address Velásquez's detainment. It isn’t releasing any information regarding his situation that would help clarify what his detention means for the future of all international students at UF.
FERPA privacy protections are concealed from everyone who doesn't have a subpoena. Alachua County Public Schools doesn’t keep records of a student’s immigration status; no records can be obtained without parental consent, a warrant, subpoena or court order, and it has become clear these records are safer than the actual students.
While the student’s school records remain concealed and secured, the students themselves must risk their safety to cooperate with a political agenda that is meant to strike fear in immigrant families.
Principals and teachers may ask for proof of a warrant and may request permission to notify parents if their child is being interrogated. But, the county's anti-bullying guide does not apply to the biggest bully — ICE.
Educators are forced to temporarily shift from educator to bystander and allow ICE to sweep into what was once a safe space for our children and youth.
We’ve been so concerned with a threat inside schools that we’ve left the doors open and allowed these bullies to walk right in.
Who are we protecting if not the students? To truly provide a safe and educational setting, we must confront the biggest bullies on campus.
On behalf of the student body, we ask for more protection for our students within schools. We ask for someone to be their voice in situations where they are positioned not to be.
Ximena Villegas is a part of Chispas, a student-led immigrant right and advocacy organization at UF.
