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Media advisory

Virtual Press Conference: School Is In, Get ICE Out: A Call to Protect Immigrant Students

September 8, 2025
Immigration

Lisa Lederer, 202/371-1996

Civil rights and immigration rights advocates will come together to call for urgent action to protect young people from immigration enforcement activity in and around schools and school-related events.

Washington DC — Students and families across the U.S. are being kidnapped and detained by ICE – right outside of their schools, at their immigration hearings, even while walking their dogs. With school back in session, we are drawing a national spotlight on the administration’s coordinated attacks against immigrants in K-12 schools and calling on school boards to protect students and keep ICE out of school areas.

Next week, join us for a virtual press conference where a coalition of civil rights advocates, grassroots organizers, and movement lawyers will urge school leaders nationwide to take immediate action to protect students and their families from federal immigration enforcement in and around schools. Speakers will also draw connections to the school-to-prison pipeline, where students who encounter law enforcement in schools are pushed out of school and into prison or jail, with some young people eventually deported.

WHO: Advancement Project, MomsRising, Children’s Defense Fund, Juntos

WHAT: A virtual press conference featuring civil rights advocates, grassroots organizers, and movement lawyers

WHERE: Zoom registration link for media (click here)

WHEN: Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 11am EST/8 am PST

WHY: Immigrant communities are experiencing heightened fear and uncertainty in response to the administration’s directive removing limitations on where enforcement policies can take place as well as in light of recent ICE presence at schools across the country, where they have already detained families and young people. Local 287g agreements signed between police departments and ICE to provide police with the power to detain immigrants add additional fear.

Reporters can RSVP here. If you would like to schedule an interview with any of the speakers prior to or after the press conference, reach out to mediadesk@advancementproject.org.

 

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Advancement Project is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. We are a co-convener of the National Campaign for Police Free schools, a formation of 20+ youth-led grassroots organizations fighting to end the criminalization of youth in the classroom, create liberatory educational spaces, and implement an affirmative vision of safety and transformative justice. Visit www.advancementproject.org to learn more. 

MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, stop discrimination against women and moms, and build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: www.MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.