Detroit educators fight for release of students held by ICE

Nationwide, more than 65,700 people are in ICE custody, about three-quarters without criminal convictions. That includes at least 600 child detentions this year, the most in over a decade. (Adobe Stock)

By Chrystal Blair

Detroit teachers are pushing for the release of immigrant students from Michigan – many of them minors – who are being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Some were sent to out-of-state detention facilities. Nationwide, ICE has taken more than 65,000 people into custody, and at least 600 children have been placed in federal detention this year.

Kristen Schoettle, an English as a Second Language teacher at Western International High School in Detroit, said the effect on students has been immediate and traumatic.

“I have many students who are afraid to go to school,” Schoettle explained. “For them, I’ve really just been sending them work through Teams. I hear of students whose parents have been detained almost every day.”

Schoettle noted at least four students from her school are in ICE custody and some were sent to a family detention center in Texas. ICE officials maintain they are carrying out federal immigration law and detention decisions are based on legal status and court processes, not school enrollment.

Schoettle added what is most painful for her is seeing teenagers who have followed the rules treated like criminals and separated from their communities.

“They’re good kids. They’ve done nothing wrong,” Schoettle emphasized. “Honestly, if this was 10 years earlier, they would have had access to DACA and had more protections. So, it’s just, for me, it’s the cruelty.”

She and other advocates said the kids detained at their school highlight growing concerns about how immigration enforcement is affecting children, school attendance and family stability across the region. ICE said individuals in custody are given access to legal proceedings.