Flock cameras are devices that use AI to track vehicle movements and capture license plates, they have existed since 2017 and conversation about the technology wasn’t very wide spread, until now in 2026. Politicians, organizations and communities have been heavily criticizing these cameras, which begs the question of, why now?

These cameras advertise themselves as being a tool for public safety and helping law enforcement solve crime cases, and for a while not much controversy was generated from them. But with the company expanding the number of cameras across the country, police usage of the data and most importantly, ICE tactics under Trump have contributed to widespread calls for the removal and restriction of these cameras.

With over 120,000 cameras across the country, there has been an influx of concerns amongst the country on privacy. Communities have been protesting these cameras as a result of how many there are, with people calling it intrusive on their rights of privacy. Los Angeles has refused to renew its contract with Flock, and organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union have been pressuring other cities to do the same. The concern of privacy has also led to bipartisan cooperation.

Both Republican and Democratic figures have spoken out against them. Republican Representative Thomas Massie introduced the “Flock-Off” act to prevent federal funding from going into the cameras, with Democrat Representative Ro Khanna co-sponsoring it. Massie heavily criticized police usage of the cameras, comparing it to George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984”. 

In an interview with CNN on Aug. 31 2026, Khanna cited incidents where police officers have used Flock data to track their exes and girlfriends as a reason for restrictions regarding how the police can use the data, “You shouldn’t be able to get access to this information without getting layers of approval and without getting some authorization.” said Khanna. This lack of authorization has also tied Flock to ICE, generating even more controversy.

According to Flock on their website, they do not work with ICE, meaning they can not see data captured on the cameras. However, ICE has used workarounds by asking local police departments that do have access to the cameras for the data. When attention was brought to the Flock CEO about this, he stated it was “not Flock’s problem” as reported by Yahoo! News.

With all the controversy Flock has generated, it’s unknown if the company can salvage their reputation with the American public.

 California is electing their next governor on Nov. 3, 2026. The two candidates running for California governor are Xavier Becerra (Democrat) and Steve Hilton (Republican). Xavier Becerra is an Attorney and former United States Secretary of Health and Human Service. His main goals for California are improving health care, lowering cost of housing and lowering homelessness rates, improving affordability, economy energy saving tactics, along with promoting innovation. Steve Hilton is a political commentator and his goals for California consist of improving energy cost, the cost of living housing in California, lowering homelessness rates, improving the education system and agriculture. Voting will officially start on Oct. 5, 2026. On this date county officials will start mailing ballots to homes, and to submit a vote you must be 18 years of age and a registered voter. Who do you think will win next? 

On Sept. 9, 2026, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at United States (U.S) military installations in Jordan. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was targeting U.S. presence at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and King Hussein Air Base in Jordan. Iran shot 20 missiles; this attack was reported to be retaliation for a previous U.S. strike on Iranian rocket launchers near Larak Island. Reports indicate that a portion of the missiles were intercepted by regional air defenses, but the rest of the missiles caused varying amounts of damage to base infrastructure and parked aircraft. Thankfully, there were no deaths in the attack. In response, the U.S. military and regional partners of the U.S. helped to attack five Iranian oil tankers as well as target assets linked to the ballistic missile attack. 

 This school year the district has introduced new policies and bans. You can view school policies in the “ATC 26-27 Student-Parent Guidelines PDF.” The new “Energy drink policy” includes the prohibition of consumption and possession of energy drinks on campus. You may already know the “no phone” policy but this year the policy has become more rigid due to the new state law the “Phone-Free School Act” students cell phones and PEDs (personal electronic devices) should be in students' backpacks at all times during school hours.

Gum/candy is not permitted in classrooms if facilitators notice you have any of these you will be asked to toss it in the trash. The “No baggy pants/shorts” rule which is a new section of the dress code mentions that pants and shorts must be worn at the waist and no saggy/baggy styles are allowed. Why are these things banned in schools?

Baggy jeans: other schools have banned baggy jeans due to gang association 

Phones: Phones have been banned because of consistent student use during class

Energy drinks: banned because they are considered harmful to student health 

Gum: Because of some students putting gum under the desk instead of throwing it in the trash

Ms Garcia’s input: Baggy jeans: Gang affiliation and also trying to promote a professional/ educational atmosphere, Phones: Helps everybody learn about each other, and socialize more.

Energy drinks: Some students have adverse physical reactions to energy drinks, and the school is concerned about its impact on your physical and mental health.

Gum: Because students aren’t responsible with their gum, putting them on the floor and on desks, “we want to maintain the most professional environment possible.”

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, originated following the end of the Civil War. In 1865, several communities began holding springtime tributes to fallen soldiers by decorating their graves with flowers. Decoration Day was created as a way to honor those who died in the service of their country. No one knows its exact birthplace, though the holiday was formally established on May 5, 1868, by General John A. Logan, leader of the Grand Army of the Republic, and would honor their dead by decorating their graves with flowers. Over a century later, the holiday is now known as Memorial Day. At first, Decoration Day/ Memorial Day was only for those who served in the Civil War who died to be honored, but it soon expanded to all American military personnel who died in service. Memorial Day has a very important and meaningful purpose to many; it's obvious that countless people in the US have someone close, either in friends or in family, who has lost someone in service to the US military. On Memorial Day, it's our time for family, friends, and even strangers to honor the fallen. There are over 1.1 million total deaths of people who sacrificed their lives while in the armed forces. We must honor these men and women, for they fought for us, and we must visit them and honor them as payment for their sacrifices. 

How to celebrate Memorial Day. Families to honor their fallen service members would usually visit cemeteries and attend local parades or community ceremonies and family gatherings, barbecues. The federal Government on Memorial Day as a solemn day of remembrance to honor military personnel who died in service. Will lower flags to half-staff until noon, a national moment of silence at 3 p.m. local time, and wreath-laying ceremonies at national cemeteries. Even schools celebrate Memorial Day by flying the American flag half-staff, and giving a day off to students to celebrate Memorial Day. If you would like to go and celebrate Memorial Day, Montebello will host a Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at 11 a.m. at the Montebello Park Memorial wall, 1301W. Whittier Blvd., the event will feature the Schurr High School band, American Legion Post 272 for the presentation of colors, and a flag salute by local troops to honor fallen heroes. 

In my personal experience, I had three uncles who served not all in the same group or place. One of my uncles, Uncle Adrian, was in the Navy. I know very little about him, practically nothing, but sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to meet him. I was told that on his way back, his train derailed, and sadly, he died in the crash. My other two uncles were not in the Navy. My other uncle Elias, I actually met and seen throughout my life he was a Marine and was in battles though I don’t remember or was told which ones but my family would tell stories of him crawling through mud sometimes for a day that he actually seen war and death I was told of a story where him and his men were sleeping in cover two other Marine groups also in cover close by One group on watch the rest sleep or relax. Suddenly, a flare was shot into the sky. They were surrounded and fought. I'm happy to say he survived that battle. Sadly, I believe in another battle, whom I don’t know much about, he and his men were gassed, causing him problems the rest of his life because he didn't die then, but years and years later, that same sickness he was given from the gas killed him. He fought it for most of his life. He got it when he was a young man and still fought it when he was old I have a lot of regent because I never actually knew him not because he wasn't in my life he was always one call or drive away but I never took a chance, and I regent it now because hes not here now I always thought he would be there and that we will talk the couple times we see each other but now I will never see him and know him more than the stories and the small conversations and memories I have with him I feel terrible. I should have been more responsible and visited him more. I should have talked to him, learned more about him. I barely know anything about him. There's a lesson in this: you never know when someone you love might pass. You must spend time with those people. My uncle Pascul is still alive. He was a drill sergeant and a sniper. I talk to him still today sometimes when I visit, but I know little of his time in service. When our family went to the funeral of Elias, and the soldiers were doing the send-off with guns and gave my Uncle Pascual an American flag, I looked at him, and I knew he was in pain. I've heard lots of stories about him and Uncle Elias. I know it must have hurt him so much. Memorial Day is important for these reasons, not just to honor the fallen but to remember them, to remember the days they were here, the life they lived, and how hard they fought. I know that on memorial day me and, my family will honor the fallen, both strangers and family, we will tell their stories and share their passions and their lives with others, and honor their memories. I hope wherever they are, they watch us and are proud of us.

While most Applied Technology Center (ATC) students enjoyed spring break at home or took trips out of town, the first ever SkillsUSA ATC chapter ventured off to the city of Ontario to attend the 59th Annual SkillsUSA California State Leadership and Skills Conference(SLSC). SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization that encourages middle school, high school, and college students to apply their Career and Technical Education(CTE) skills to prepare for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations. By implementing their framework focused on personal, technical and workplace skills, the organization enables students to become skilled professionals. The state conference took place from April 9 to 12, with the opening and closing ceremony at the Toyota Arena. The event competitions were held at the Ontario Convention Center. 

A group of three ATC students including the Public and Legal Services (PALS) pathway seniors, Sheyla Esquivel and Samantha Hernandez, and Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (ACE) pathway sophomore Iris Ausencio won silver in regional during their community service event, qualifying for state-level competition. The rest of the chapter members attended the conference as observers alongside with Mr. Hinson and Ms. Jordan. Upon arrival on Thursday afternoon, the three silver regional winners prepared for their presentation that would be judged the next day. 

In their competition event, Iris explains, “We created and handed out care packages to support low income families in our community.” The care packages included weather appropriate gear like gloves, socks, beanies, hand warmers. As well as hygiene kits and an affirmation card as a reminder to these families stay positive even during tough times. In order to accomplish this, they collaborated with the nonprofit organization located across the street of ATC, Heart of Compassion. With the organization’s support, they were also able to help families with food supply. Although nervous—being new to SkillsUSA in general—, all three experienced many emotions before and after presenting to the judges. Iris further describes, “Before I presented I was nervous but confident because I had prepared a lot for my competition. It paid off because after I presented to the judge I felt good that the hard part was over!” Though they fell just short of advancing forward to nationals, this team showed immense skill and dedication throughout the regional and state rounds.

During the conference, the chapter members were able to put their social skills to use. From interviewing other advisors to interacting with other chapter students from across California for a scavenger hunt, everyone enhanced a skill of their own. Tallulah Mendoza—president of the 2025-26 ATC SkillsUSA chaptewr— shares, “My most memorable moment of the SkillsUSA conference was bonding with my fellow cabinet members and getting to know them more.” Very similarly, Iris expresses, “...we were able to walk around and talk to new people and everyone was really kind and friendly.”

Ultimately, the SLSC was an unforgettable experience, being the first time having SkillsUSA at ATC and already having a team making it to states was phenomenal itself. Congratulations to Sheyla, Samantha and Iris for the exceptional work they have done. They represented ATC at the state conference with their hard work and dedication. As this new chapter ends, Tallulah notes, “I would definitely recommend SkillsUSA to other students! It might seem brand new and overwhelming at first but it’s definitely worth it in the end.”

Binding 13 has been a highly popular book among the BookTok community on TikTok and other social media platforms, as it stars two fictional teens, Shannon and Johnny, who fall in love despite facing numerous challenges and struggles in their daily lives. This book was written by Chloe Walsh, which was later turned into a book series known as the Boys of Tommen series, featuring different characters, such as Saving 6, which stars Shannon's brother, Joey, and Aofie as the main characters.

However, recently, Binding 13 has been announced to be converted into a TV show on Prime Video, which is soon to be in production. As a big-time fan of this series, I have mixed emotions about it becoming a show, as many are aware that the book is often considered superior to the show.  

Prime Video isn't extremely bad at converting books into series, as they did do this recently with the book " We Are Liars, " which turned out to be good, as the casting reminded me so much of the characters from the book. A friend of mine who hasn't read the book also enjoyed the show to the point where she started reading the book to see more of the inside details the show didn't show. Although Prime Video does end up cancelling a show after one season, which can be horrible for many.

The book effectively conveys a range of emotions through the author's choice of words, which accurately express the feelings of each character. Although it is only the first book that has been announced to be turned into a show, I'm not sure how they will be able to convey Shannon's feelings as effectively as the book does. Either they add way too much or too little, or the actress doesn't do the best job to portray Shannon.

Although it's exciting to see one of my favorite books come to life on screen, it's still really hard and terrifying knowing that my favorite series might be ruined into a disaster.

On Feb 24 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine with the idea that it would be a “three day special military operation.” Four years later and this war is still going on, with both sides taking heavy casualties, and geopolitics changing as a result.

After Russia failed to take the capital of the country, Kyiv, it was solidified that the war was going to last for a long time. The morale of the Ukrainian people at that moment was strong, they defended their country against a bigger power before aid from NATO had come in. Now in 2026, morale on both sides has deteriorated as a result of how long the war has lasted. Ukrainian civilians have been subjected to relentless airstrikes from Russia, and Ukrainian troops have started getting physically tired, despite this, both remain determined to stand strong and stay resilient in such dark times. 

Being the Secretary of Homeland Security is a big responsibility as they lead the third largest Department of the United States government. The department of homeland security (DHS) is responsible for counterterrorism, cybersecurity, aviation security, border security, port security, maritime security, administration, and enforcement of our immigration laws etc. Up until Thursday, March 5, 2026 Kristi Noem held the position of Secretary of Homeland Security. She was already involved in a lot of politics before coming into that position as she served as the 33rd Governor of South Dekota. But that leads to the question of why was she fired?

Thursday, March 5, president Donald Trump announced the firing of Kristi Noem via social media. The announcement followed after two days of deliberation after other government officials spent time talking about her spending over $200 million dollar border security ad campaign featuring her on horseback. Not just that but Noem was also criticized for her immigration enforcement failures, congressional scrutiny, ethical concerns, and her losing white house support. 

Now that she was fired, who was the person meant to take the position after her? The new Secretary of Homeland Security is Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin. As of March 24, 2026, Mullin was sworn in by president Donald Trump. He was also confirmed by the Senate in a 54-55 bipartisan vote. 

While Kristi Noem herself no longer has her original position she now has the position of Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. Which is a new United Stated led security initiative. Appointed by President Trump, Noem leads a group of 13 Western Hemisphere nations focused on countering drug cartels and boosting regional security, following her departure from DHS. Noem, while she doesn’t have her original position she is still a part of the government. 

Throughout history, people have faced intense struggles due to injustice inflicted on them from other, more powerful entities. Today is no different. With situations such as the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) running rampant in our communities and other crises happening abroad, here are some ways you can help and make a difference. 

One way you can help is utilizing social media and hashtags to spread awareness. Simply spreading awareness about something going on in the world can make a big difference as the mainstream media doesn’t cover certain situations that much, examples include the crises in the Congo, Sudan etc. Explain the background of these situations and try to make others learn more about it by linking reputable sources. On social media, you’re always bound to see someone spreading misinformation about a certain topic, some deliberately do this to sway the minds of other people, so if you see it, call it out!

Another important thing you can do is donate to organizations and charities. This is normally done to help those abroad who are caught in a conflict, but you can also donate to organizations such as Freedom for Immigrants, which helps people who are in ICE custody. 

You can also express your right to assemble and walk out in the streets to protest, remember to do this peacefully and know your rights if police intervene. You have the right to record them and remain silent if arrested.

These are all important to understanding your rights as someone living in the United States. You have the right to express discontent, concern or anger towards the unjust treatment some people in this world are given. Use that right to make change in your communities.

Social media is a big part of everyday life now. With people using it to catch up with friends and family, posting pictures online, or simply doom scrolling. A lot of parents also depend on social media to keep their young children entertained while they do their parental duties. This leads to children or teens to be unsupervised while they're online because how bad can social media really be? Well, in actuality being online unsupervised can cause some major problems. Like being exposed to inappropriate subjects or talking to people that want to pry on young children. Recently many states have passed laws to prevent that from happening and to keep children safe online.

So what are the new age verification laws? Multiple states (like Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana etc.) now require social media platforms to require age verification via a government given identification (ID) or facial scanning with artificial intelligence (AI) to see how old you are. Additionally these laws add parental consent for users under 16 or 18 depending on the app. In the state of California coming January 1, 2027 the “Digital Age Assurance Act” will come into effect. Seeking to make a middle ground it requires platforms to know the users age without receiving sensitive information like providing a photo of your ID. Students at school have mentioned their own discomfort with the new laws. “I personally don’t like it because it honestly can put a person in danger if that information is put into the wrong hands, especially with minors, I find it odd that some companies need to do that, while some don’t, to me it’s an odd system that people use to verify something in an app.”

Well if this is meant to protect children on social media why do a lot of people oppose it? For many it's a safety problem. Sending a photo of an ID could be a bad idea in case of a security breach or the platform keeping the photos and not knowing what they are doing with it. Verifying with the AI verification can also be a risk because of potential wrong age estimates and feeding a face to AI is a huge risk in case of its training on the photo. Not to mention many other states like Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, and Utah either oppose the new act or are modifying it to fit the constitution. As these states argue that the Age Verification Act violates the first amendment of freedom of speech. 

In the end, the new age verification laws are unavoidable.  

Read Across America week is a national event that is celebrated all around American schools and libraries on March 2nd and is a week-long event typically ending on March 6th. Read Across America is an initiative to encourage reading to students of all backgrounds and age groups primarily pre-school through high school students. 

Read Across America was created by the National Education Association with the first national celebration being held on March 2nd 1998. Schools and libraries host many events during Read Across America week such as hosting spirit week, making their students dress up as their favorite characters, wear specific colors, dress as super heroes, etc. These spaces also Invite special guest readers into classrooms usually with younger students kindergarten to 5th grade. These guest readers can be parents, community members, local celebrities and even major figures.

For example, in 2010 Michelle Obama hosted a Read Across America event where she read “The Cat in the Hat” and other books written by Dr. Seuss to elementary school students. 

Schools arrange book swapping events where students can exchange their books with other students so they can experience new genres of books or books that they wouldn't normally read. Book Drives play a big part during Read Across America week; they are hosted to collect new or lightly used books from the community to distribute them to people in need and underprivileged communities. Setting goals for students is an event many schools participate in, schools challenge their students to meet their reading goals or to push themselves to read more than they would usually read. When students meet their reading goals or the challenge expectations they get rewarded with certificates, stickers, small toys, pizza parties and more. 

Read Across America week is especially important for younger students because it helps children learn about diversity, struggles and real world problems. Read Across America can also improve reading skills early on and raise the probability of students finding a liking for reading when they are older. Overall Read Across America week is an important event because it encourages literacy in students and it makes reading fun and exciting.

President Trump has once again vowed to acquire Greenland as part of the United States of America, stating that he does not intend to use force to do so. According to the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, “The United States was founded 250 years ago, but Denmark has maintained documented sovereignty over Greenland for over 3,000 years.” These were responses to Trump’s bizarre letter to the Danish government, stating that “There are no written documents, only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there too.” Implying that the territory could also belong to the United States. 

Trump’s reasoning for the acquisition of Greenland is its “national security,” saying that it can not defend itself from nations such as Russia or China. But Denmark, being part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has the defenses and support of many other European nations; therefore, they don't have to worry about invasions. NATO is also getting involved in this, stating that they will “Obtain a well-founded picture” for “further talks and planning within NATO.” Leading to the conclusion that if there will be any military activity in Greenland, it will be under NATO’s framework, otherwise it could lead to a change in the organization dynamics, global politics, and potentially worse.

Ah, Groundhog Day, a day where Americans everywhere look to a marmot to use its powers of divination to discern if there will be six more weeks of winter or not. Ah, Groundhog Day, a day where Americans everywhere look to a marmot to use its powers... oh, yeah, and also a day famous for time loops. But disregarding the Bill Murray movie, what other significance does the holiday have? Why a groundhog? How many meteorologist marmots are there? And how are you supposed to pronounce Punxsutawney (it’s punk-suh-taw-knee)? You will learn the answers to these questions and more in this article. Let’s get this out of the way before the next time loop.

The story of Groundhog Day starts with a group of immigrants known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. They are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania that despite the name largely originate from Germany. On February 2nd, they would practice the feast day of Candlemas, which commemorates when Joseph and Mary presented baby Jesus at the temple in Christianity. The Germans would use the bear’s appearance post-hibernation to determine if they would have extra winter or early spring, but when the bears grew scarce in numbers they switched to badgers. When the Pennsylvania Dutch came to America, they replaced badgers with groundhogs because badgers are very rare in Pennsylvania. 

The earliest mention of Groundhog Day was in an 1840 diary in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, and its first mention in a newspaper was in the 1886 Punxsutawney Spirit. Clymer Freas, editor of the Spirit at the time, is now credited as being the father of Groundhog Day. The early Groundhog Day celebrations at Punxsutawney were carried out by the Punxsutawney Elks Lodge, whose members would actually go and hunt groundhogs to eat at the lodge. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club formed in 1899. Of course, rodents like groundhogs aren’t actually that appetizing to people, so the hunting part of Groundhog Day was discontinued soon. 

Along the way, the official Groundhog Day mythos started to form and solidify. The groundhog’s name is Punxsutawney Phil (this name was first given to him in 1961), and he comes out of his burrow on February 2nd. If he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter, and if he doesn’t there will be early spring. Phil is the most famous and arguably most important groundhog, because Punxsutawney is where Groundhog Day started. However, Punxsutawney Phil isn’t the only prognosticating pasture pig. There is a (stuffed) groundhog at Quarryville’s Slumbering Groundhog Lodge, then there’s Myertown Uni, Manchester Chuckles, Milltown Mel (who passed in 2021), Stonewall Jackson, Essex Ed, Malverne Mel, Great Neck Greta, Quogue Valley Quigley, Staten Island Chuck and Charlotte (both of whom are dead), Dunkirk Dave, Buffalo Bert, French Creek Freddie, Queen City Charlie, and Holtsville Hal. Hideous run-off sentence aside, that gives us an estimate of 17 groundhogs (3 of whom have died), right? Wrong. That’s in the Mid-Atlantic alone. Buckeye Chuck, Flatiron Freddy, Potomac Phil, and possibly countless others exist all over the United States. 

Despite the sheer amount of groundhogs in the United States, Groundhog Day has always been seen as sort of a campy holiday, which it kind of is. What really solidified Groundhog Day into the eyes of pop culture was BIll Murray’s 1993 Groundhog Day, a flick where a weather reporter (also named Phil) is in Punxsutawney to report on Groundhog Day, only to find himself in a seemingly endless time loop where the day always repeats itself. Before the movie’s release, Punxsutawney would see around 2,000 annual attendees, but after it would see around 10,000. Groundhog Day has also become synonymous with time loop in the public eye, cementing itself not only in our hearts but in our vernacular. If you want to see Punxsutawney Phil divine the weather yourself, make sure to check out the official Punxsutawney Groundhog Club website at around 6 a.m. ET for their livestream at Gobbler’s Knob. See you next time! See you next time! See you next... that dang time loop!

El Mercardito, a beloved local market place, has been a gathering space for Latinos in East Los Angeles for decades. What was once filled with traditional goods and culture, is now left in empty silence. Why you may ask? As customer José Morales puts it, “And look at it right now, it looks like a ghost-town. Being realistic, people are just scared because of ICE.” This is the unfortunate reality for 51.9 million immigrants in the U.S. who live in constant fear of deportation, many of whom have been deported already. Under the Trump administration, immigration enforcement policies led to a significant increase in ICE raids across the country, affecting countless communities in different ways.

At the Applied Technology Center (ATC) high school, a survey was conducted to assess the impact of immigration enforcement on students in their communities. When asked if a business they knew was harmed in any way by ICE, one student reported, “No. But ICE being outside made me scared to go outside, protest, and do normal day-to-day things. I was also really scared for my dad because he is darker and only speaks Spanish and owns his own business.” Responses like these show how raids affect more than just people; they affect entire communities. They spread fear through families, disrupt daily routines, and weaken local businesses as fewer people feel safe enough to shop. These challenges show how deeply immigration enforcement can affect the places where people gather, connect, and support one another. 

Sometimes, people assume that students have no worries about what is going on around them, which is incorrect. Students at the Applied Technology Center (ATC) High School have shared their opinions about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its mental impact on them. One student said, “Me and my family worry for going out, especially after the new passing of ICE being able to racially profile you. Uneasiness and fear are growing in our families.” Racial profiling was happening during the beginning of the week in September and the Supreme Court gave the “green light” to ICE agents to be able to stop anyone they think is illegal. For example, if they hear a person of color speaking Spanish, they have the “authority” to stop and question them. However, the Supreme Court has also asked ICE to pause its unlawful actions due to the Los Angeles federal courts filing complaints about the illegal racial profiling ICE is committing. But, at the moment, that does not stop ICE, and being detained is still a very common fear among students, according to survey results conducted by the Blueprint staff.

In the survey, another ATC student said, “Luckily, not anyone I know has been detained by ICE, but it’s something that’s not easy to hear about from others.” ICE has been constantly spotted in areas that they are not expected to be, such as churches and schools. Having to hear on the news that ICE has detained all kinds of people, such as people of your own age, ethnicity, area, or even watching videos of innocent people being forcibly removed from their jobs, is extremely hard to go through. Therefore, it is very important to focus on students' mental health and ask how they are doing as the ICE raids continue.