School District Reverses Suspension Over Pro-ICE Flyers

A school district near San Diego has decided to lift the suspension of a student who had created flyers supporting federal immigration enforcement, following intervention from a civil rights organization.

The student, whose identity hasn’t been disclosed, faced suspension in February after putting up flyers that expressed support for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), featuring phrases like “We [heart] I.C.E. – Real Americans.” This decision came on the heels of an incident two weeks prior, where students participating in an anti-ICE walkout were allowed to display signs with messages such as, “If You’re an I.C.E. Agent Ya Mom’s a Hoe!!” and similar harsh statements.

Despite the flyers being posted in a common area that had seen other political materials displayed before, the school labeled the student’s actions as “harassment” and “intimidation.”

Conor Fitzpatrick, a Supervising Senior Attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), commented, “School administrators can’t pick and choose which opinions students are allowed to express. Voicing an opinion that upsets others isn’t ‘harassment’ or ‘intimidation’; it’s simply how democracy works in America.”

After securing representation from FIRE, the student succeeded in having his suspension removed.

Nationwide, students have staged walkouts to protest against ICE, particularly after the involvement of Department of Homeland Security officers in the January shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, which fueled further unrest. Other protests have sometimes escalated into chaos.

For instance, at Enumclaw High School in Washington state, police reported two arrests linked to a protest, with one student facing charges for assault, obstruction, and resisting arrest, while another was charged with obstruction after students became aggressive towards independent reporters covering the event.