‘Fighting for their rights’
Highland students, teachers hold rally in support of immigrants and refugees
Amid fears over toughening enforcement, a group of Highland High School students spent Sunday rallying on the corners of a busy Southeast Albuquerque intersection in support of immigrants and refugees.
The high school has one of the district’s largest refugee and immigrant populations, according to English teacher Heather McGuire, and students on Sunday said they wanted to show that they stand in solidarity with communities worried over changing political policies.
“A lot of us come from immigrant families,” organizer and 11th-grader Mario Hernandez said. “We want to tell them that we’re there for them.”
Hernandez, who held a sign that said “Immigrants make America great,” said many students considered participating in the Day Without Immigrants strike Feb. 16, but worried that walking out of their classes would send the wrong message to an understanding school.
“The school’s on our side,” Hernandez said. “We don’t really want to hurt the school, you know? That’s why we did this.”
Around 20 students and teachers stood on the corners of Zuni and San Mateo for an hour as passing cars whizzed by. Many held handmade signs. “Refugees are welcome here,” one read. “Highland supports immigrants,” read another.
Teachers who attended said they were proud to see students exercising their rights and sharing messages of tolerance and solidarity.
“I know that it helps them, too. I’ve been there before,” McGuire said of attending rallies and protests. “It does feel like you empower yourself a little bit, and you’re not so lost in the system.”
She joined Sunday’s rally to make sure her students, and passing drivers, know that the Highland community will protect them. It’s comforting, she said, to be reminded that you’re not alone in your views and that other people feel the same way as you. She said even the continuous stream of supportive honks by passing motorists felt good. “It’s nice every time,” she said. Teachers usually don’t know a student’s immigration status, McGuire said, but it comes out occasionally in their assignments or in conversation. Teachers even avoid learning a child’s status on the off chance that they’re ever questioned about it, she said.
Robert Frausto, a psychology, Chicano studies and English teacher, said he’s already seeing the effects of changing immigration policy on his students.
“They’ve cried with me, they’ve worried, they don’t know what’s going to happen,” Frausto said. “Some of them are making plans. If their parents get deported, they’ll be responsible for their younger brothers and sisters.”
He said social media perpetuates rumors about ICE enforcement and breeds fear and confusion. And so it was a relief Sunday to see students emerge from that fear to make a statement.
“They’re fighting for their rights,” he said. “Win or lose — however this turns out — at least they can say they fought.”