When three students and their mother were taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a March 27 raid on a farm in Sackets Harbor, near Watertown, Jonna St. Croix and the rest of the Sackets Harbor Teachers Association knew immediately.
“A teacher picks them up in the morning for school and tutoring,” St. Croix, president of the SHTA, said. “One of the students called the teacher and told them not to come because there were people in their home and they were scared.”
As word spread throughout the one-building district, educators got to work. “Teachers are highly educated, motivated people who want to protect their students,” said St. Croix. While working to maintain normalcy for the nearly 400 other students, during down times the members worked the phones, calling those they knew in law enforcement and local government, to find out where their students were and how to get them back.
Hours after the students were taken, St. Croix and other teachers had put together a list of local and statewide representatives with phone numbers, emails and a script so members could call and ask for help.
The next day, they found out the family was being held at an ICE detention facility in Texas. That weekend, the SHTA began collaborating with the district’s administration, looking into other avenues.
Working with the New York Immigration Coalition, they decided on a rally to get more attention, and hopefully pressure, on the case.
St. Croix worked with NYSUT North Country regional office staff and also spoke with NYSUT President Melinda Person.
“I felt very supported throughout the process,” said St. Croix. “I really felt like NYSUT was there for us.”
The SHTA decided on an event to focus on coming together and supporting the school community, separate from a larger rally happening the next day.
NYSUT’s Social Justice Department coordinated with the American Federation of Teachers to expedite the delivery of boxes of books on kindness and different cultures to hand out to children at the rally. Titles included All Are Welcome and Counting Kindness. The order also included journals for kids to use that prompt them to “write your story.”
“Sometimes, justice and healing come in the form of something as simple as a book,” said NYSUT Secretary-Treasurer J. Philippe Abraham, who heads the department. “This is what solidarity looks like. It’s what we do. And it’s why this work matters.”
Under a crystal-clear sky, dozens of educators and community members gathered in the town’s center.
“People just came together and supported each other,” said St. Croix. “It was important to a lot of us to maintain hope that we would be able to get them back in our community.”
The SHTA holds “Casual for a Cause” dress down days. On the Friday of the event, educators dressed down and donations went to the family at the detention center so they could get food while being held.
And now the students and their mother are back home in a community that loves them. The three students, a third grader, a 10th grader, and an 11th grader, are already back in class. Educators know there is still work to be done.
“We’re just trying to give everyone the support they need and heal from this trauma,” said St. Croix.