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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2016)
The Portland Observer wishes each all our readers a happy and safe Thanksgiving! QR code for Portland Observer Online ‘City of Roses’ Volume XLV Number 47 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • November 23, 2016 Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Portland School Board Member Julie Esparza Brown has rallied and won support for a new school district policy to affirm the protection of civil liberties and the rights of undocumented students. School Sanctuaries photo by M ark W ashington /t he p ortland o bserver Classes end Friday at Beach School in north Portland. A new reso- lution by the Portland School Board calls for protecting the phys- ical safety and emotional well-being of all children in the district regardless of national origin or immigration status. Board member rallies support for undocumented by M ichael l eighton p ortland o bserver e ditor The sole representative of col- or on the Portland School Board has successfully rallied her col- leagues behind a new district pol- icy to make its schools safe and welcoming places that affirm the protection of civil liberties and the rights of all children regardless of immigration status. Latina Board Director Julie Es- parza Brown brought her concerns to a board meeting the day after the election of Donald Trump as president. In his campaign, Trump vowed to deport millions of undoc- umented immigrants from Mexico and ban Muslim refugees from Syria and other Mideast countries. He also pledged to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a program from the Obama Administration that protects children from depor- tation who were brought illegally to America. The heated rhetoric surround- ing the proposals has brought “a great deal of worry and concern about family stability and safe- ty throughout our community,” Brown said. “We want to ensure we have policies and procedures in place so our families feel safe.” On Thursday, the school board voted unanimously for a resolu- tion sponsored by Brown that clar- ifies and limits immigration en- forcement in Portland’s schools, citing a commitment to providing for the physical safety and emo- tional well-being of all children in school. A professor at Portland State University and a third generation Chicana, Brown said there is a history of large scale deportation raids in the city of Portland by fed- eral officers of Immigration Con- trol Enforcement (ICE). The pos- sibility of renewed enforcement under the law and order pledges by Trump required a pre-emptive policy for protecting children, re- gardless of national origin or im- migration status, she said. “We won’t tolerate any ha- rassment and bullying of our stu- dents,” Brown told the Portland Observer. “When families are de- tained, we need a process of what to do to keep kids safe.” On Friday, PSU President Wim Wiewel, in a message to faculty, staff and students, also declared that PSU would respond to con- cerns about the safety and wellbe- ing of undocumented students and those covered by DACA, by de- claring the university “a sanctuary campus dedicated to the principles of equity, diversity and safety.” c ontinued on p age 4
