California School District Reverses Suspension of Student Punished for Pro-ICE Poster
Students at schools across the country have participated in anti-ICE protests, often with the support of school officials and administrators, despite incidents of violence and student endangerment.
But one school district in California chose to punish a student who dared to share a pro-ICE poster, which the district deemed “harassment.”
The student, who posted flyers that read “We ❤️ I.C.E. – Real Americans,” was suspended from school.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought, announced that the school has reversed and expunged the suspension.
On Feb. 6, hundreds of students at Torrey Pines High School peacefully staged a mid-school- day walkout to protest ICE and U.S. immigration enforcement policy. They held posters displaying statements including, “If You’re an I.C.E. Agent Ya Mom’s a Hoe!!,” “FUCK ICE,” and “ICE is KKK spelled differently.”
Yet, two weeks later, the school suspended a student for posting pro-ICE flyers reading “We ❤️ I.C.E. – Real Americans.” The school claimed the flyers, which caused no disruption at the school — and were displayed in a common area where other students have posted political material — nevertheless constituted “harassment” and “intimidation.”
“School administrators can’t pick and choose which opinions students are allowed to express,” said FIRE Supervising Senior Attorney Conor Fitzpatrick. “Voicing an opinion which makes others upset is not ‘harassment’ or ‘intimidation,’ it is American democracy in action.”
Fitzpatrick added, “We’re pleased the school has erased the suspension and will be watching closely to ensure the school respects its students’ First Amendment rights.”
“The law is clear: Public schools must allow students to peacefully express their political opinions.”
FIRE notes that the student secured representation from the organization’s litigators and, ultimately, the school also agreed to expunge the suspension from his record.
At Chloe Day School, a “progressive” public preschool in New York City, teachers led an anti-ICE protest and held anti-Trump signs in the classroom.
At Lake Region High School in Florida, one student was nearly hit by a car.
A mother was brutally assaulted by a mob of high school students during an anti-ICE protest at Issaquah High School in Washington state.
Real America’s Voice reporter Brian Glenn shared video of a mob of Hays Consolidated School District students in the Austin, Texas, suburb of Kyle, savagely beating a man during an anti-ICE class walkout protest on campus.
At Fremont High School in Nebraska, a student was struck by a red SUV during a student-led anti-ICE protest. The girl’s mother pointed the finger squarely at the school, accusing administrators of failing to protect students and even allowing protest materials to be made in class.
Anti-ICE resistance manuals and training materials were discovered at Minnesota schools that receive federal funding.
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