In remarks on the House floor before the Congressional recess, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) spoke about the Trump administration's moves on education.
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00:00As someone who has dedicated years of my career to education, striving to create a better
00:04future for children, I find it disturbing and ironic that my colleagues in the majority
00:09pass bills that they say are to protect students, but in fact do nothing to address the real
00:14challenges children are facing in schools today.
00:17The majority is willing to pass a bill to protect students from the Chinese Communist
00:21Party, something no parent or educator has ever mentioned to me, but not willing to address
00:27gun violence, increasing behavioral health needs, or importantly, the stress and fear
00:32that the Trump administration has created by giving ICE free-range to raid sensitive locations,
00:39including schools.
00:41But don't take my word for it.
00:43Listen to the words of a fourth-grade student in Oregon who wrote me this letter.
00:46Hi, I'm a local student.
00:48I'm in fourth grade.
00:50Ever since the rules were changed to allow ICE agents to enter schools, I felt scared for
00:54my safety and the safety of my classmates, friends, and neighbors.
00:58I feel scared and distracted in class sometimes because I'm worried ICE might come into our
01:03school.
01:04I worry what might happen to me if I refuse to answer their questions to protect my friends
01:08and classmates.
01:10I worry about ICE agents trying to talk to me on the bus ride from school.
01:14I worry about what I should do if ICE agents come up to my neighbors while I'm walking with
01:18them home from the bus stop.
01:21Some of the things I worry about are do I hide my friends if they're getting taken?
01:25If ICE enters my school and takes someone, what will the school do?
01:29If ICE takes my classmate, what should I do?
01:32Where does ICE take people?
01:34And what do I do if my friends come home to an empty house because their family got deported?
01:40I wish I didn't have to worry about these things.
01:43And I wish even more that my friends, classmates, and neighbors did not have to either.
01:49Thanks for your time.
01:51Mr. Speaker, this administration said they were going to go after dangerous criminals
01:56and drug dealers.
01:57But what they're doing instead with this disastrous mass deportation effort is creating fear and
02:03stress across the country, including among young children.
02:08I wish I didn't have to worry about these things, the student said.
02:11So do I.
02:13And so should anybody in this body with an ounce of compassion.
02:16Please our kids let that sink in.
02:19And let's do what we need to do to truly protect students.
02:23Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
02:24I yield back.
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