In the Fall of 2025 the Federal Government has deployed additional officers and National Guard troops to DC.  This federal administration has prioritized detaining and deporting those who have immigrated to the United States. While those without legal status have been targeted, others have also been detained.  Per Presidential order and in violation of our sanctuary city laws, MPD is working with ICE on these arrests.

Here: Building Block Networks

Here: What if Law Enforcement knocks on  Your Door

Click here to sign up for Free DC’s School Arrival and Dismissal Community Support program. 

If you are interested in becoming more involved through long-term school organizing, sign up to be a school captain here

We encourage everyone to sign-up for these to build this supportive infrastructure and we know that you all know your schools, your classmates, neighborhoods, teachers best, your hyper-local connection and organizing will move faster than any one organization generously building systems in the context of daily rapid response - so sign up & co-create together by getting going!

Here are some additional steps all parents can take:

1. Print & Pass Out Red Cards to Everyone At School

   • Print your own red cards

   • How to use your red card

2. Conduct Know Your Rights Trainings & Build Agency through Practice with Rollplay

   • AFT: Know Your Rights

   • Free DC: Know Your Rights

   • ACLU-D.C.: Know Your Rights

   • National Immigration Law Center: Know Your Rights: What to Do if You Are Arrested or Detained by Immigration

   • Immigrant Defense Project: Know Your Rights with ICE

3. Distribute Family Preparedness Plan Documents & Training videos

   • Immigrant Legal Resource Center: Step-by-Step Family Preparedness Plan

     • English | Spanish

   • Families United DC: DC Metro Families United Guide

   • CASA: Know your rights & emergency planning guide

     • English | Spanish | French

4. Distribute trusted local legal aid, and criminal defense attorney contact info & encourage all employees & parents to your local Rapid Response Hotline in their phones.

   • Save the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid ICE Emergency Hotline in your phone for the DC Metro Area to report ICE Raids or other activity: 202-335-1183 

   • DC, MD, VA Immigrant Resource Guide

5. Confirm that your school has safety protocols and training in place for ICE or other Law Enforcement involvement

   • Intercultural Development Research Association: 10 Strategies for How Schools Should Respond to Help Children Impacted by ICE Raids

   • Fair Immigration Reform Movement: FAQs for School Officials: What to do if ICE Shows up at Your School

6. Foster Cultural Pride & Joy

   • Beautiful Trouble has many ideas for tactics to copy and remix. 

   • Make your protests fun – include art, dancing, music, decorations and more! 

   • Make relationships with local artists like musicians, dancers, MCs and others and invite them into your organizing circles. 

   • Take joy and fun as seriously as we take policy and demands – spend time and intention on making things beautiful, fun and culturally expressive. 

7. Share mental health and wellness resources with your community during this time. 

   • United We Dream’s UndocuHealth Initiative has developed a Resilience and Community Care Toolkit to support organizers and community leaders.

   • Informed Immigrant has a toolkit Mental Health for Immigrants: Taking Care of Yourselves and Loved Ones

   • Immigrants Rising has Wellness Support Groups

8. Expect More From Allies

   • Get together as parents and caregivers to research and brainstorm how families can show up for students, parents, and caregivers who are most at risk and ensure school communities are welcome spaces. Talk to trusted leaders like educators, clergy, and community activists. Read materials and resources. Attend meetings and organize events that show solidarity. 

   • Start a caregiver team at your school to organize community support activities. You can meet in person and on chat apps like WhatsApp/Signal. Organize events at your school, show up to support community wide protests, and more. Support rapid response activity when community members are under threat. 

9. Stay Informed and Combat Mis and DisInformation

   • Get involved with and follow local DC organizations online to get local accounts of the truth of what is happening in your communities. A non-exhaustive list: Free D.C., Empower Ed DC, CASA; D.C. Justice Lab; Neighbors for Justice; Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network; AYUDA; Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia;  The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

   • Build a family practice of examining sources, doing research, assessing if images are rule or fake, and asking critical questions about information. Teach your children to ask media literacy questions, and ask them of yourselves. If your child watches the news or consumes social media, start conversations with them about their thoughts, feelings, and questions about what they are watching. Make sure they understand how your family will engage with what is happening in the world. 

Please help spread the word by sharing ways to protect our kids with your DC networks – fellow parents and caregivers, PTA email lists, friends, family, and neighbors. A few hopeful examples of welcoming from your friends in Los Angeles here, here and here who are rooting for you!

This is the website for the Council Commission on Policing https://dcpolicereform.com/

This is the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/DCPoliceReformCommission

DCPS has issued an RFP for a security contract, first companies will have to qualify to submit.  Here is the RFP

This is the current security contract that is up for renewal to begin on July 7th, 2020 to be in effect til July 2021. The Council currently has a resolution to disapprove this contact. This enable it not to be automatically approved.  

This is the letter of legal sufficiency that was issued in March on the proposed policy.  There may have been changes prior to the approval of the final bill. 

This is the Comprehensive Plan to Implement the School Safety Act of 2004. It was a 6 month project that involved many stakeholders including SHAPPE.  Any transfer or change to security would need to address the issues in this document.  

If you have any trouble viewing this document try this link https://docs.google.com/document/d/13qoogpfvZtC_cgj8MFZ3YQ1N-9r_zi2G_WyDkML6JCU/edit?usp=sharing  This is the MOU that was agreed to in 2005. One immediate change if this document is still in force is to remove the requirement that MPD enforce the disciplinary code as it applies to school safety. This is open to broad interpretation.  

In 2005-2005 the poor condition of the DCPS buildings including dozens of doors contributed to the challenges in providing security.  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i1FlnGwJE5IyJnqDD8lkMeLNILEOmtM3BwCl904ZJog/edit?usp=sharing  for use if the file will not open..

This is the incident report for August; it might provide a baseline of comparison to the incidents that safety and security will need to have preventive measures as well as protective to respond to in 2020.  We do not have a recent incident report yet for the months prior to the COVID-19 closure.