Montgomery County PTA instructs Maryland parents to obstruct ICE in virtual training

Officials of the Parent Teacher Association in what is one of the largest and wealthiest school districts in the nation recently held a training for families who wanted to interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

PTA meeting, which took place virtually for those in Montgomery County, Maryland, was headed up by Councilwoman Kristin Mink on January 20, and told families how to make “safe passages” for those who want to “get to and from school safely” as well as counter "ICE violence," per National Review. Mink hosted sessions on how schools can equip themselves with “tools to slow ICE down and protect each other."

“Especially for white allies, whistles can represent a subconscious desire for authority, protection, or control in moments of crisis,” one slide on the presentation said. “But rapid response is not about assuming authority. ... When we question decisions made by those impacted, we risk centering our own comfort instead of impacted people.”

The presentation, titled “ICE Response & Organizing Tools for PTAs, Parents & Guardians,” was advertised on the social media page for the Montgomery County Council of PTAs.

Other organizations, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP), the Montgomery County Education Association, the Montgomery County Immigrant Rights Collective, and the Fans of Asylum and Immigration Reform also supported the meeting.

Mink added during the presentation, “What feels ‘activating’ or empowering to some can cause stress to others,” and said that “Black and Brown communities are already overexposed to chronic noise pollution due to racist zoning, redlining, and disinvestment.”

Mink’s presentation in one of the wealthiest school districts in the country comes as there have been other anti-ICE movements and agitators across the country at schools. In Utah, middle and high schoolers walked out of classes last week, and videos showed some students throwing rocks at vehicles while others marched through a local Walmart chanting, “F*ck ICE! F*ck ICE!”

Mink claimed during the training that ICE officers arrested two men “as horrified children, caregivers and school staff watched” in September outside a middle school.

“We cannot, must not, and will not normalize an event like this, which leaves marks on the souls of not only those having loved ones violently ripped from them, but on those who witness it,” she added. National Review, however, did not find any documentation of ICE raids on Montgomery County Public Schools' property for the last year.