Hope was scarce for Joel Camas, 16, last winter. His mother had spent $11,000 on lawyers — nearly all of her money — but mother and son remained on a trajectory toward deportation back to Ecuador, and Joel’s life in New York City seemed to be unraveling.
In the Bronx, his high school was a lifeline. Against a drumbeat of immigration arrests, teachers offered comfort and helped him plan for the future he dreamed of as an auto mechanic or Army soldier. In his spare time, he liked hanging out with classmates to play soccer and eat pepperoni pizza.
And, crucially, school staff members and friends worked with a pro bono lawyer to try to persuade immigration officials to let Joel, who is undocumented, stay in America.
As President Trump’s immigration crackdown has begun to target more underage migrants, New York schools have become a quiet locus of resistance, with teachers, classmates and neighbors banding together in their defense. At least five migrant students have been detained or deported since January in New York City.
In interviews, more than a dozen people connected to school-age migrants said they were dismayed by what they described as the federal government’s intimidation of children. They have built an informal network of allies and shelters to cocoon the city’s students, in some cases offering lodging or escorting them to and from school so that their parents avoid interactions with law enforcement. There have been no reported cases of federal agents detaining children at school in New York or elsewhere.
Because their efforts risk drawing the attention of administration officials who have sometimes exacted retribution against those who impede their clampdown, many advocates and educators have acted in secret.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post These Students Are Scared. Friends and Teachers Are Their Protectors. appeared first on New York Times.
