According to Migrant Insider, Baltimore County Public Schools has suspended a teacher for allegedly posting on social media that he was eager to assist US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in targeting Hispanic children.
Newsweek has contacted the Baltimore County Public Schools superintendent and the Maryland State Department of Education for additional information.
Why It Matters
Immigration was an important part of President Donald Trump’s successful 2024 presidential campaign.
The reported incident in Maryland comes as parents and educators are concerned about the impact of immigration enforcement on pupils. Tensions have risen since the Trump administration authorized ICE raids in “sensitive locations” such as schools, raising concerns about student safety.
According to a New York Times/Ipsos poll (January 2-10), 55% of people support Trump’s mass deportation plan, while 88% support deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records. The majority of Democrats and Republicans agree that the current immigration system is dysfunctional.
What To Know
Baltimore County Public Schools announced in a letter to parents that it is looking into “unsettling” social media statements reportedly made by an Overlea High School teacher.
The teacher’s post on X, formerly Twitter, allegedly tagged ICE’s account, presenting the names of pupils for investigation and categorizing them as undocumented or children of undocumented immigrants.
One tweet from February 3 reads: “I was just handed a list of pupils that can lawfully skip today in support of illegals, as the majority are illegal. Do I contact ICE or let it slide?”
Students protested in the halls of Overlea High School after a post singled out almost 50 Hispanic students who had been excused from class earlier in the week for advocating for immigrant justice.
A second post on X two days later read: “We had nearly 50 students at my school be legally excused to skip and support the illegals protest earlier this week.” Everyone is either an immigrant or their children. If you need the names to investigate families for illegals, please let me know via dm [direct message]. I will provide names and schools. “All in Maryland.”
A county school system official stated Friday that they are looking into the controversial posts from the X account in issue, which could have belonged to a teacher. It looks that the account has since been disabled.
Migrant Insider spoke with numerous pupils, and they stated that a substitute teacher has been assigned to cover the suspended instructor’s class.
What People Are Saying
Andrew Mendez, an Overlea student, told local TV station WJZ: “It’s kind of sad, because that teacher was the one that some people could talk to and felt comfortable with, but now it’s like, can you really trust a teacher?”
Overlea graduate Austin Mendez also stated to WJZ: “I think it’s racist because he’s saying all of these people are illegal or from parents that are illegal, when most of these people already have their stuff settled, they’re probably already citizens by now.”
In a letter to parents, Overlea High School Principal Dr. Monica Sample stated: “School administration recently learned about an unsettling social media post—allegedly from an Overlea High School teacher—directed at a group of Overlea High School students.” The sentiments in the post do not reflect our values as a school community and violate BCPS’ acceptable practices and high expectations for staff members.”
She said, “The Overlea High School administration is following all BCPS rules and procedures to investigate and resolve this issue, and we are dedicated to providing a secure and welcoming learning environment for all students. We’d want to thank the individuals of our community who brought this issue to our attention.
On January 25, an ICE official informed Newsweek that the agency had not conducted any operations at schools or bus stations. Our enforcement efforts are still focused on public safety threats and those with a final order of removal.”
Sarah Paoletti, practice professor of law and director of the Transnational Legal Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, told Newsweek that individuals can certainly notify others that ICE is in the neighborhood, and ICE may attempt to prosecute those individuals for obstruction of justice.
The conditions will determine whether the charges are effective or not. ICE is limited in its authority to enter houses and detain people without a warrant. If there is a warrant and the individual subject to the warrant is directly alerted with information that they are the specific target of the operation, a prosecution is more likely to succeed than if there is a wide alert issued throughout the neighborhood.
What Happens Next?
It is unknown whether the teacher will face additional disciplinary action or legal consequences.
