Letters to the Editor: When children are punished for following the rules, all families learn is fear
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To the editor: An 8-year-old Haitian boy in San Diego did everything right. Living with his uncle since his father was deported, he received a letter ordering him to an immigration check-in. His uncle brought him because they believed in following the rules. As of Wednesday, the boy hasn’t gone back home. He was separated from his family, reportedly restrained and placed in a federal facility (“San Diego school officials push back after Haitian boy, 8, is taken during ICE check-in,” Nov. 10).
I am a Florida elementary teacher and I have taught third grade, which is the grade the boy is in. Whatever questions existed about guardianship paperwork, restraining an 8-year-old at the appointment he was told to attend was not the answer.
California should demand his release and reunification with his uncle, and a public explanation. When children are punished for showing up, every family learns to fear the process, and children disappear from our classrooms. That helps no one.
Wrendly Mesidor, North Miami Beach, Fla.
