By Brenda Ortega
MEA Voice Editor

On the final exam in government class each semester, MEA member and social studies teacher Chloe Root asks students to explain how the federal system of checks and balances works to prevent abuses of power.

This year some of her students at Community High School in Ann Arbor chose instead to demonstrate their knowledge by arguing how the system has failed, evidenced by the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents deployed to U.S. cities.

Root shared the anecdote at a state Senate committee hearing last week while testifying in support of Senate Bill 508, which would prevent ICE activities at sensitive locations in Michigan, including schools, hospitals, courthouses, places of worship, and domestic violence shelters, except where there is immediate threat of harm or a judicial warrant.

“I was really surprised to see that five students in one class independently cited ICE as an example of checks and balances and federalism failing to prevent abuse of government power, whether because of unlawful detention and searches, racial profiling, or violence against protesters or detainees — including the crowd of students pepper sprayed at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis.”

Root told the committee she does not explicitly teach about immigration enforcement or border patrol at the small alternative school, but she sometimes fields questions from students trying to make sense of what they see happening in the world.

“I’m so glad that you are considering Senate Bill 508,” she said. “Students are scared, even in a city where we don’t have a large undocumented population.”

MEA supports SB 508 — Contact your state legislators to urge support!

Since 2011, federal policy protected schools and churches from certain immigration enforcement activities, including arrests, interviews, searches, and surveillance without a judicial warrant. That policy expanded in 2021 to include hospitals and other sites for essential services.

President Donald Trump rescinded those rules on the first day of his second term in office.

SB 508 is part of a three-bill package sponsored by a number of Senate Democrats, including Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), who chairs the Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee where the hearing was held last Thursday.

“We do know of many instances where people have been picked up just dropping their kids off at school, people going to the courthouse literally because they’re trying to follow the process that our government has laid out for them to get legal permanent residency,” Chang said.

The stated intent of the Trump administration to pursue only criminals who are in the U.S. illegally is not how the enforcement actions are playing out, said Rep. Mai Xiong (D-Warren), who has sponsored companion House legislation and testified at the hearing.

As of November, immigrants with no criminal record were the largest group in ICE detention.

“Let’s be very clear: ICE is not a criminal law enforcement agency; its job is to enforce immigration laws, deportation, removal orders, which are entirely civil proceedings,” Xiong said. “Targeting our neighbors in sensitive locations is not who we are as Michiganders. It is not who we should be as Americans.”

In Minnesota, the most recent location of intensified federal immigration-related arrests, schools in the Twin Cities region have been forced into lockdowns and remote learning, and families have kept children home, because of safety fears.

SB 508 and related measures are expected to get another hearing in committee before a vote is taken. Meanwhile, Chloe Root appreciated the chance to exercise one of her civic duties by speaking up for legislation she believes is needed to protect students and communities.

When she started teaching in Ann Arbor 16 years ago, school doors were unlocked and office staff were not tasked with monitoring doors for potential intruders, Root testified. Now active shooter drills are a necessity and a regular fact of life in school.

“I am constantly bewildered when other adults wring their hands about why students are so anxious and depressed. They’re constantly worried about acts of violence against innocent individuals.”

Root concluded, “School staff are working so hard to make our staff and our students feel safe and supported in a time that is really chaotic and challenging. Please help us to do our jobs and take care of our students the way that we want to and we’re supposed to. Please keep ICE out of schools by passing SB 508.”

Add your support for SB 508 by contacting your legislators today!