Since early September, masked and armed federal immigration agents in unmarked trucks have been patrolling Chicago neighborhoods in an immigration crackdown known as 鈥淥peration Midway Blitz.鈥�
U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials have said the effort staying in the country illegally. But most recently, agents have been seen deploying tear gas canisters in neighborhoods, including near elementary schools and in areas where children were gathering for a Halloween parade, according to .
A group of U.S. Senate Democrats has urged U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officers don鈥檛 conduct operations near schools, according to . In January, the Trump administration rescinded a long-held policy that classified schools as 鈥減rotected areas鈥� from immigration enforcement. While DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin , she added that 鈥渋f a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect public safety.鈥�
Sylvelia Pittman, an interventionist and multi-tiered system of supports lead at Henry H. Nash School of Fine and Performing Arts in the Austin community on Chicago鈥檚 West Side, has worked in Chicago public schools for 24 years. In an interview with Education Week, she said she鈥檚 never experienced the fear and uncertainty she is currently grappling with as immigration enforcement ramps up in her neighborhood and directly disrupts the lives of students and coworkers.
Pittman shared what it鈥檚 been like to teach under such circumstances and what advice she has for fellow 糖心动漫vlog across the city and country. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What鈥檚 been happening near your school over the last two months regarding immigration enforcement?
We鈥檝e seen activity near our school 鈥� in our neighborhood. It鈥檚 been [happening] a couple of blocks from our school. [ICE agents are] just in the vicinity.
We have had a couple of our families be impacted鈥攏ot just the students, even my colleagues. One of my colleagues, her husband was actually questioned the other day. Another one, her cousin had been deported back to Mexico. So it鈥檚 hit home. It鈥檚 not just stories anymore.
It has impacted those that we work with, so we are checking in on each other, making sure you are asking, 鈥淎re you OK today?鈥�
How is 鈥淥peration Midway Blitz鈥� affecting your day-to-day work as a teacher?
It hits differently, because when you come to work, the first thing that comes to mind when you don鈥檛 see a certain student, you鈥檙e wondering if they鈥檙e OK, if their family is OK. It鈥檚 almost like you don鈥檛 want to be in fear, but it makes you feel some type of way. You have to stay calm in front of the students, because you don鈥檛 want them to be upset. You don鈥檛 want them to know that you are worried about them.
We are also taking more precautions. We have weekly meetings for our safety team. We go over what is going on in the neighborhood, and we are coming up with plans if our kids are outside at recess, if they鈥檙e starting to get on the bus, all of those different things we have to think about now. You feel like you鈥檙e watching over your back every time you go outside.
How is your school working to keep students and families safe and willing to come to school?
We always say school is the best place for them to be because this is their norm. This is their place where they feel the most normal. At this particular time, when they are not at home, it鈥檚 probably the safest place for them to be during the day, and their families know their children are being cared for, that they鈥檙e being watched, and [we鈥檙e] making sure that they have everything they need.
We check on our students. We鈥檙e having discussions about their feelings, what it is that they need, [and] how they feel in this moment.
We鈥檙e careful about what is being said around our students when we know their parents have been detained. We had two moms who were detained. I can鈥檛 imagine being 4 or 5 years old and not understanding why my mom is not at home with me, and I don鈥檛 know when I鈥檒l get a chance to see her, or I don鈥檛 know if she鈥檚 coming back. That鈥檚 a little disturbing. So we try to make them feel as comfortable as we can at this time, and even ask the fathers what they need from us.
There鈥檚 a crew of people who are at each door, who are ushering the students into the building and ushering them out of the building.
We鈥檙e in the process now of trying to make sure that we have rapid response teams, just in case we need to contact one. [In the event of ICE presence at the school], they [as community organizations] would help us with making sure that all of our students are able to get out of the building鈥攕afely into the cars or just walking in the neighborhood.
Have you experienced anything like this in your teaching career?
I鈥檝e never experienced this. I feel like I鈥檓 living during a time I鈥檝e heard about that transpired in the 1960s for our civil rights, when my grandparents and great grandparents fought for me to be able to be free to have a public education, to be able to have a higher education.
The things that my forefathers, my ancestors have fought for and I learned about as a little girl growing up鈥攏ow, I actually live in it, making sure that my grandchildren that come to school with me every day are safe. I feel like it鈥檚 history repeating itself.
Any advice for 糖心动漫vlog who may find themselves in similar scenarios?
Find the courage to be able to be there for yourself and for the families that you鈥檙e representing, because the only way that anybody is going to be safe is if we stick together, and we keep each other safe. We don鈥檛 need federal agencies to come in here and make our spaces safe. It鈥檚 up to us as the citizens of the city, the citizens of the state and our neighborhoods, to keep each other safe.
Find the courage to be able to stand with your colleagues and with your families, and to make sure you鈥檙e educated. Educate your parents and your community about their rights.
