On January 29, around 7th period, the school was put on lockdown which led to rumors that Immigrants and Customs Enforcement(ICE), who handles border control as well as immigration violations, were near the school building. ICE has been taking illegal and legal citizens off from the street and home to deport them back to their birth country. Most people they have been taking are Hispanics, who make up 30% to 31% of students at AFYW. In general, most kids in this school come from families who moved from other countries, so when the school was locked down, it made many students worry about ICE showing up, as some have mentioned seeing men in uniform, so I went to uncover what really went down, as well as how AFYW helps protect students.

Assistant Principal Ms. Velez explained, ”The school was on lock down that day for something else and not ICE as the school will always protect students as the DOE has a system that ICE can’t come into the school at all to take students away.”

That system is perfect for students in general, as many have been scared to go outside or walk home, scared that ICE will come and take them away from their families.

The American Immigration Council pointed out that ”the second half of the 2024-2025 school year saw a chilling effect where families were pulling their children out of school, terrified that a parent, family member, or child could be detained or deported, as some students and families have been.” The fact that there are 5 million children who have a parent not in the books creates fear for many students, but our school has safety nets to protect students and even parents by having posters around the school building of what to do if ICE does come around.

I wanted to know how students feel about this info, so during lunch I went around in the hallway and asked students from 12th grade and 11th how they feel about ICE and if they feel safe on school grounds.

Senior Sariya Brooks said, “They will try but I don’t feel safe with my life.”

The next student I asked was junior Cloud Walker, and they mentioned that they do feel safe but “not really outside.”

They also mentioned the fact that the school does have a panic button, but they aren’t really sure about it. Even though teachers and higher-ups of the school building have said that the school will protect them, it does put into consideration if  the students feel such way and how can the school accommodate that so that students will feel safe under our presidential administration with ICE arrests on the rise.