Texas Governor Greg Abbott is threatening students after thousands walk out in protest of ICE!
Students answer the call to stand up
Over the past week, thousands of students across Texas walked out of schools in protest against ICE terror. Students across dozens of school districts are demonstrating that Minnesota is not alone, that we stand together in this fight!
In response, Governor Abbott signaled that teachers supporting the students should be “treated as co-conspirators” and districts that allow walk outs should be defunded and taken over.
Abbott claimed that “disruptive walkouts allowed by schools lead to just this kind of chaos,” even Tweeting of an arrest, “It’s about time students like this were arrested.”
Videos show violent pro-ICE adults attacking teens
Abbott is blaming students for “chaos,” but the videos show the truth: students at multiple campuses have been attacked and harassed by adult men, and defended themselves against right-wing terror.
In Buda, TX, 45-year-old Chad Michael Watts stopped his truck on the side of the road, walked into a student protest wearing a MAGA hat, and began shoving a teenage girl. Students defended themselves from this cowardly act.
Stories like this have emerged from all over the country. But since right-wing violence has not stopped the walkouts, Abbott is now threatening the entire education system.
ICE raids hit home for Texas students
Texas walkouts have gone strone because ICE terror is directly aimed at Texas students and their families. For instance, Mauro Henriquez, a senior and soccer team captain at a school in Houston, has been detained with his father for more than 50 days as they await deportation. There are thousands of stories like this and they have galvanized fierce resistance to ICE’s agenda.
Abbott has targeted Austin in particular in his rhetoric, but the protests have spread to every corner of the state, urban and rural. Texas is the base of operations for much of ICE and their infrastructure. But that hasn’t stopped the fight back – it has only made the fight more urgent!
Abbott’s threat part of a larger plan
Abbott’s threats to take over schools aren’t just about the protests. They are another step in his mission to privatize the Texas education system. This is a clear excuse to defund public schools, launch hostile takeover campaigns across the state, and funnel public money into unaccountable charter school networks. This is part of a larger plan to enrich the elites at the expense of our schools!
In contrast, the students are fighting for their classmates, their parents, and their neighbors. They’re fighting for the preservation of democratic and political rights. We must defend the students’ rights to protest by bringing this struggle into every sector of Texas society!
STUDENTS: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
- You have a right to express yourself politically with speech and political clothing.
- Handing out flyers and petitions in between classes is constitutionally protected.
- As long as you do not disrupt the function of the school’s day-to-day operations or violate a school’s policies, your political actions are legal and protected.
- Your school is allowed to discipline you for walking out of class or being absent from class as a form of protest. But your school is not allowed to punish you more severely based on the political cause that you are supporting.
- A school cannot legally suppress the message of your speech/political expression.
