Event Recap: Supporting Immigrant Students in Hostile Environments Teach-In Webinar Watch Now

Dear Friend,

Thank you for joining MomsRising and our partners for the powerful and timely virtual teach-in, Supporting Immigrant Students and Families in Hostile School Environments. We’re so grateful to the hundreds of parents, caregivers, educators, and allies who showed up from across the country to learn, share, and take action.

Together, we explored what a “hostile environment” really means for immigrant students and families, and how it’s showing up in classrooms, school policies, and in anti-immigrant state and federal legislation. With support from national leaders and local organizers, we discussed how to recognize these conditions and what we can do to organize, push back with care and solidarity, TOGETHER!

What We Covered:

National Overview: The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) joined us to share a national perspective on how anti-immigrant policies, rhetoric, and under-resourced school environments are impacting students across the country. Our cohosts at the Advancement Project highlighted what is happening at the federal level, while reinforcing the right of every child, regardless of status to a public education.

Local Frontline Voices: We heard directly from organizers on the ground:

MomsRising Florida State Team highlighted harsh policies in FL and how families are organizing in response.

Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity (MS) shared how they’re resisting surveillance and ICE collaboration.

Education Justice Alliance (NC) spoke about the criminalization of immigrant youth in schools.

Youth leaders from Puente (AZ) gave powerful testimony about how young people are pushing for change inside and outside of classrooms, and collectively facilitating mutual aid efforts for immigrant students and families..

MomsRising’s Youth and Family Justice and Immigration teams shared a framework for identifying systemic harms, from bullying and discriminatory discipline to fear of deportation and cultural marginalization, and provided tools for action. We introduced strategies for community protection, mutual aid, allyship, and advocacy that can be used now, no matter where you live.

Resources to Support You:

• Teach-In Full Video: Watch and share with others on the MomsRising YouTube channel.
• Community Protection & Mutual Aid Toolkit: Learn quiet strategies for safety, including coded language systems, sanctuary planning, and school observation logs in both English and Spanish.
• Defining & Disrupting Hostile Environments: Understand the key features of hostile school climates and practical ways to counter them.
• National Mutual Aid Resource List: A list of local and national mutual aid and immigrant support organizations and resources in both English and Spanish.

MomsRising is continuing the fight for immigrant justice, and we need you with us. Whether you want to sign a petition, write an op ed, speak at a school board meeting, host a kitchen table circle, or support your local mutual aid team, there’s a place for your voice.

Get Involved Now: Join MomsRising's efforts to protect immigrant students and families!

In a time when school should be a haven, too many immigrant students are made to feel unsafe, unseen, and unwelcome. But through our collective action, we’re building something stronger: networks of trust, safety, and community.

Thank you for being part of this critical work.

In solidarity,
Beatriz, Kelsey, Diarra, and the whole MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team

P.S. Click here to tell Senators to vote NO on the Big Bad Betrayal Bill.

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