CHICAGO – A teacher said tear gas was directed into a school yard, forcing students and recess indoors. A viral video recorded near another school showed law enforcement dragging a woman out of her truck and throwing her to the ground. And students say they’ve seen ICE vehicles in their neighborhoods, which scares them, according to one instructor.
Educators say those incidents and others that have taken place as federal immigration agents increase arrests in Chicago are disrupting their jobs, disrupting their communities and traumatizing their students.
“Everyone is very anxious,” said Sheena Shukla, a school social worker for Chicago Public Schools. “Can you imagine telling a 12-year-old that there are people who might want to stay with their family? We can’t protect our children from these realities, so we give them a level of support that they can understand.”
In response, school staff members have organized teams to report and respond to Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity around their schools, including patrolling the area, keeping concerned parents informed and helping escort some families to and from school, according to members of the Chicago Teachers Union.
That work includes talking to her students in age-appropriate ways about what’s happening in their communities in a city that is nearly 30% Latino and more than 22% foreign-born, Shukla said.
The Chicago Public Schools district holds daily calls with city leaders and labor partners. It said in a statement to NBC News that while there has been police activity near some schools, there have been no incidents within its schools and facilities. However, the district and the Chicago Teachers Union have been issuing guidance and taking steps in preparation for federal immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump returned to power in January.
“School remains the best and safest place for students. CPS staff has safety protocols in place, including how to respond if federal representatives seek access to school property or interaction with students or staff,” the district said.
The district has also been vocal about the fact that it does not collaborate with federal immigration agencies, including ICE. Officers will not have access to their schools unless they present a “valid criminal court order signed by a federal judge,” the district said in its statement.
The Department of Homeland Security referred NBC News to a statement that said ICE does not target schools or children.
“ICE is not going into schools to arrest children. Criminals can no longer hide in America’s schools to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement. “If a dangerous illegal alien criminal were to flee to a school, or if a child sex offender was working as an employee, a situation could arise where an arrest would be made to protect public safety. But this has not happened.”
On Tuesday, DHS said on social media that its increased law enforcement in the area, known as Operation Midway Blitz, “is making Illinois SAFE again” and had arrested more than 1,500 people across Illinois, including felons and gang members.
Last week, Chicago Teachers Union officials met with about a dozen teachers at Funston Elementary School to discuss a recent incident involving immigration officials and the firing of tear gas near the school.
More about immigration law enforcement in Illinois
Maria Heavener, a first-grade teacher at the school, described how she was teaching on Oct. 3 when she heard what sounded like helicopters, horns blaring in the street and a whistle that educators used to announce ICE activity. Then he saw a message from a fifth-grade teacher at the school that he saw ICE “less than 100 feet from our building” while walking to a store called Rico Fresh Market for lunch.
“Tear gas filled the streets, entered the Rico Fresh parking lot and headed toward our playground across the street,” Heavener said at a news conference with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
A class that had been outside was quickly brought inside so they would not be affected by the tear gas, Heavener said. The school said in a letter to families that it kept recess indoors for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution and that staff members were well aware of the protocols to keep students safe.
At dismissal time, about 100 community members were lined up on the streets near the school, “creating safe passage for our children and families and sending a clear message that ICE is not welcome in our community,” Heavener said.
DHS did not respond to a request for comment about police activity and the deployment of tear gas near the school or concerns about the use of chemical agents near schools.
“There is no institution available right now that is built to deal with the trauma, the impact that our young people, their families and our communities are experiencing,” said CTU President Stacy Davis Gates.
Heavener and other school staff members told NBC News they had seen a drop in attendance as immigration enforcement operations increased. “Some families and students don’t leave home,” said Shukla, the social worker.
Videos of apparent immigration enforcement activity in the city have kept teachers on high alert, including a recent viral post showing federal agents pulling a woman from her car and putting her on the ground while detaining her. The person who recorded and posted the video said she is a teacher and that the incident occurred near the school where they work during dismissal when parents were picking up their children. The teacher claimed she heard students shout “It’s ICE!” and fleeing.
NBC News could not independently verify the details described in the post and the video’s author did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DHS said in a statement about the incident that while conducting targeted immigration enforcement operations, Border Patrol was “harassed and recklessly followed by agitators with megaphones and whistles who began shouting inflammatory comments and alerted the public to the officers’ presence.”
“They were driving recklessly, including weaving between lanes and putting other drivers at risk. After the driver stopped abruptly in traffic near a school, police approached the vehicle,” McLaughlin said. “The occupants refused to exit the vehicle and follow the orders of law enforcement.”
He said the people in the car were two illegal immigrants from Mexico, but he did not identify them or specify whether they were detained.
A teacher at a school in Englewood, a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, told NBC News that students reported seeing ICE vans near their homes or driving by during recess. The teacher said that during a meeting with a seventh-grade class, a student said she “felt sad because she witnessed ICE kidnapping someone. Immediately, the entire class became a discussion about ICE activity.”
The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear that federal immigration agents could target his school community, said some of his students’ relatives have been arrested by immigration agents.
“This spreads. Now there are other students who miss their friends,” he said.
Heavener said his young students find it difficult to understand what is happening.
When school returned Monday after the incident near Funston Elementary, Heavener said, she asked her first-grade class how they were feeling and if they had any questions about what happened.
Some were confused and others “knew exactly what Immigration and Customs Enforcement was, they knew what a tear gas canister was.”
“They told me that they feel sad and scared. It doesn’t make sense to them,” he said. “In social studies, we’re also doing a unit on community, on getting along with others, on rules and laws, on citizenship and respect, and they’re seeing all of these things being violated in real time. The things they’re learning and the things they’re seeing outside the window don’t line up.”
Heavener asked students to share a word that described how they felt. Most said “scared” or “worried.”
Then one student said he felt brave, he said.
The student said, “I feel brave, because at the end of the day, did you see how many neighbors were outside? They were there to keep us safe,” she said.
“Then another kid, encouraged by that, said, ‘I feel confident, because I know that school is the safest place to be. My mom was telling me that they can’t come into our school at that school,'” Heavener said. “I think that’s also what gave me hope right now.”
