At first, I thought my initial blog post would be about childhood memories from school. But that can wait. This post needs to be written now—for this moment.

Wow. I’ve been watching and reading about the protests in LA against ICE, and it’s honestly mind-blowing that this is happening right now. How are we witnessing news stories about ICE deporting not just adults, but children—without due process, without notifying families, without offering any real explanation for why people are being sent back to places they fled from in the first place? People who were trying to create a better life—for themselves, for their children.

As an educator, I can’t help but wonder: what would I do if it ever got to the point where ICE came for one of our students? God forbid. But honestly—what if? Because it feels like it’s getting that close.

I have one student whose mother brought him here when he was little. His father was in a gang and had put both of them in danger. They weren’t just running from hardship—they were being targeted. And I just don’t understand why people can’t see that these are the kinds of situations families are escaping. It’s not all “criminals” or “bad decisions.” These are people—people surviving.

Why does it have to be so black and white? Why this blanket generalization that all immigrants are criminals? What happened to the systems and policies this country claimed to be so proud of—systems that were supposedly designed to offer fairness and due process? They aren’t being followed. They’ve been broken and dismantled.

This is scary. All of this is scary. And I keep hoping that my own child doesn’t grow up in a reality like the one we’re seeing now.

I was fortunate—my immigrant parents were able to get their citizenship when they did. I’m fortunate to have been born in this country, with the privileges that come with that. But what’s unfortunate is that so many children and families who are still in that process—who are so close—are now being stripped of that opportunity. Not after weeks or hearings or paperwork. But the moment an ICE agent takes them away.