This letter was submitted on behalf of Spark faculty.
PUTNEY-We, the faculty of the Spark Teacher Training Institute, support and stand with the National Education Association, the Vermont-NEA, and the Winooski Education Association in condemning the unjust and abusive interrogation and detention of Winooski School District Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria on July 21 at the Houston airport.
We oppose the criminalization of human beings based on their documentation status and the racist profiling that is intensified by these policies.
The upsurge in unlawful arrests and detainment of immigrants and migrants across the U.S. by federal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents (often masked and plain-clothed) is terrorizing communities across the nation. Reports of inhumane and overcrowded detention facilities surface in the news daily.
At the same time, people across the nation are organizing to resist the brutal deportation agenda through rapid response networks, Know Your Rights trainings, protests, and teach-ins.
Vermont is no exception to both the targeting by ICE and the resistance efforts and organizing. We must continue to mobilize to protect our communities, including fellow educators and students who are scared, who are being targeted, or who may face intimidation.
We stand firmly with all communities that experience violence in our state and beyond. We believe as educators that we are to work toward a just world and stand on the right side of history. We stand with Wilmer Chavarria, his family, and all those whose lives have been impacted by ICE.
Chris Lievense
Putney
This letter was submitted on behalf of Spark faculty.
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