By Nina Shapiro / The Seattle Times
Anticipating mass deportations promised by President-elect Donald Trump, the Edmonds School District planned an event aimed at educating immigrants about their rights and preparing for raids. Then, a conservative social media account called attention to the event, prompting a flood of hostile and threatening posts.
On Monday, the district called the event off.
“We didn’t feel it was in the best interest of families,” said Curtis Campbell, a district spokesperson, adding school officials didn’t want attendees to feel unsafe.
The X account Libs of TikTok posted a self-declared “scoop” about the planned Dec. 17 event to be held at Lynnwood’s Meadowdale High School in partnership with the Mexican Consulate of Washington. The post drew nearly 900,000 views and comments offering help to use the meeting to aid immigration enforcement.
“I live close to that school and am prepared to help ICE agents do their job,” said one commenter, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “We’ll be watching and taking pictures,” said another. A third noted: “This meeting sounds like a great place to start a roundup.”
Campbell said some commenters implied the district would be helping people evade law enforcement. That was not the intent, he said. Rather, he said, it was to tell people about their rights and encourage them to create a “care and safety plan,” especially for their children.
Campbell said he didn’t know how many students in the district might be undocumented, or have family members who are. State law prohibits school districts from collecting that information. But he noted the Migration Policy Institute has estimated Snohomish County has 25,000 unauthorized immigrants, making it likely the Edmonds district, as one of the largest in the county, has a significant share of them.
Some families served by the district have expressed concerns about looming immigration actions, leading the district to ask the Mexican Consulate to put on a “know-your-rights” presentation.
Héctor Iván Godoy Priske, the head Mexican consul of Washington, also rejected the notion the presentation would help people skirt the law. “It’s not hard to get a frenzied mob of people to spread misinformation,” he said.
Know-your-rights presentations for immigrants, such as ones put on by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, often advise people to decline to open the door for ICE agents or answer their questions unless they have a judicial warrant. While some might construe that as failing to cooperate with law enforcement, Matt Adams, legal director of the immigrant rights nonprofit, said a nonauthoritarian society like ours grants people the right to privacy in their homes without interference from law enforcement.
Godoy Priske described the planned presentation at the Lynnwood school as somewhat different. It was to follow the consulate’s standard format, focusing largely on labor rights, he said. It would also have addressed services the consulate can provide for Mexican nationals facing enforcement action, but those are limited, such as providing documentation for U.S.-born children moving with deported parents to Mexico.
Libs of TikTok did not respond to an interview request Tuesday. The account, influential among conservative media figures and has also generated outrage about LGBTQ+-friendly efforts, posted a Fox 13 TV story about the presentation’s cancellation and added a statement:
“If you came into our country illegally, you already committed a crime. You are a criminal. You will be deported. Say goodbye to the free housing, insurance, food, and debit cards that the American taxpayers are funding. Your time here is running out and the deportations can’t begin soon enough!”
Many people subject to deportation entered the country illegally, but not all. Some overstayed their visas. Others are lawful permanent residents who committed crimes, ranging from nonviolent offenses like drug possession to murder, that render them able to be kicked out of the country.
Depending on the state they live in, they may receive some, but not all, taxpayer benefits. Washington provides health insurance to low-income undocumented immigrants, for example, but has struggled to house recent asylum-seekers who have been living in tents and an overcrowded church shelter. Unauthorized immigrants, who usually pay taxes if they work, are generally ineligible for federal benefits.
Campbell said the Edmonds district, despite nixing its presentation, remains committed to helping immigrant families prepare for possible enforcement action. How the district will do so is yet to be determined, though he said it will urge parents to submit up-to-date emergency contacts who could look after their children if they are detained. Failing that, the district usually works with police or the state’s child welfare system to find care for students.
Adams, of the immigrant rights project, noted immigration status is fluid. People may not have legal status one week but gain it the next, for instance due to a pending asylum application. And that application gives people the right to remain in the U.S. until it is decided.
He said the threats unleashed by the planned presentation will not deter its know-your-rights events, which are being stepped up as the Trump administration approaches. If anything, he said, it shows the need to “double down” on educating people the organization serves as well as the larger community.
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