Officials at the Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD) have launched an investigation into a social media comment allegedly made by a substitute teacher calling for immigration enforcement officers (ICE) to visit a local high school since many students “don’t even speak English,” CBS News reports.
A screenshot of the viral post shows the comment reading, “Y’all should come to Fort Worth, TX to Northside High School. I have many students that don’t even spe
ak English.” The person behind the comment alleged that students have to use a translator to communicate with her. Fort Worth ISD issued a statement alerting the community that they are aware of the post and issuing a full investigation. “We take this matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation to understand the circumstances and ensure appropriate actions are taken,” the statement read.“…we are committed to maintaining a positive and supportive environment for all students. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we address this matter.”
Ninety-three percent of North Side High School identify as Hispanic or Latino.
The comment comes after President Donald Trump tossed out immigration protections at schools as he embarks on what he
called the “largest mass deportation.” School and state leaders issued statements condemning the comments allegedly made by the sub. Fort Worth Council Member Carlos Flores called the tweet a “broken trust.” “With this controversial and very inappropriate tweet: that’s broken that trust. So I understand why people are hurt and concerned about it,” he said.Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) spoke out on how ICE is going about detaining immigrants without cause after arresting more than 80 “varying degrees of criminality.” The congresswoman said people “deserve to know who is being detained and why!”
While Flores assured that
“students can still go to school and have a safe place to learn,” many students are uneasy about returning. Yadamarie Vasquez feels “upset” and also claims not to even know who the teacher is. “It makes me upset because I feel like all of us kids, we feel like safe around here. And then I feel like he just kind of made us not feel safe being here anymore,” Vasquez, a North Side student, said, according to NBC DFW.“I seen a lot of things going on TikTok about this teacher. I don’t know who he is. I’ve never seen him before, but he just made a tweet about us kids, like, how we don’t speak English. How we’re all, like, basically illegal, although we’re not.”
The school district’s interim Superintendent, Dr. Karen Molinar, suggested that those concerned about a parent or guardian possibly being detained while a student is in school should update their emergency contact information immediately.