Rantz: Superintendent vows to protect illegal immigrants from nonexistent threat

It feels like Kent School District Superintendent Israel Vela wants you to know he’s a hero. He’s telling parents and students he will protect illegal immigrants from a threat that doesn’t really exist.

In the newsletter Vela’s Voice, the superintendent said he has been “reflecting on the (election) results and potential impacts on our community” because “times such as these can” lead to concern “for those among us who may feel more vulnerable or uncertain about the future.” He’s talking about students with parents in this country illegally, though he refuses to say it directly.

Vela lists a number of protections and rights afforded to students. In doing so, it’s easy to think he’s trying to firmly establish himself as progressive on the issue of illegal immigration. It’s essentially using taxpayer dollars to take a stand against President-elect Donald Trump’s perceived policies.

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Superintendent plays hero

Vela told parents in this country illegally he won’t share their citizenship status, presumably with the federal government. That would be illegal.

Vela also noted that, “Every child has the right to learn and grow, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.” He said members of the Kent School District staff are not allowed to discuss the citizenship status of students and their parents.

“While school staff are mandatory reporters for issues related to abuse or neglect to ensure student safety, reporting a student or family’s immigration status is not part of that responsibility,” Vela continued.

Here’s the problem …

This newsletter feels like another round of performative virtue signaling from someone looking to be patted on the back for being “evolved” on the issue of illegal immigration. Why else did Vela feel the need to remind us the district is a safe haven to protect students from a threat that doesn’t exist?

Trump and his incoming administration have made it clear: There will be mass deportations of criminal and dangerous illegal immigrants. There is a backlog of 1.4 million illegal immigrants who have already been ordered to be deported, but they haven’t been yet. That 1.4 million represents the mass deportation.

These are people who have already been afforded due process. Around 13,000 of them are already in custody, leaving a lot more for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to track down and deport. That effort will likely take up most of Trump’s term. Beyond that, there was never any intention to go door to door and ask for papers, despite what Democrats would have you believe.

Unnecessary fear for illegal immigrants

If you read into the concerns implied in Vela’s newsletter, you’d get the impression that ICE agents are camped out in PTA meetings and hiding in bushes outside schools, waiting to deport parents and their children. If those are legitimate concerns from parents and kids, it’s because left-wing media is intentionally spreading outrageous claims because they believe fear sells and will hurt Trump.

A newsletter like this, even if well-intentioned, only legitimizes those baseless fears.

This is a classic case of fixing a problem that doesn’t exist. Even in the most liberal interpretation of mass deportations, Trump never talked about targeting kids. (Though, if a 17-year-old in this country illegally commits a violent crime, that person should fear and expect punishment and deportation.) But Democrats refuse to distinguish between violent, criminal illegal immigrants and those in this country illegally while still trying to contribute positively to our communities. They bizarrely extend protection equally to both groups.

Meanwhile, the Kent School District faces legitimate problems while Vela focuses on self-righteous declarations that no one asked for. The district started the year facing a significant budget deficit.

This kind of empty posturing is exactly why public trust in school leadership is at an all-time low. Kent families deserve better.

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