Nearly 100 Educators Meet to Blunt Impact of Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Hate Speech

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Updated, Oct. 28

Correction appended Sept. 30

Educators and advocates from across the country — many of whom say they have already seen the effects of anti-immigrant political rhetoric on their students — convened Wednesday night to strategize on how to counter it in their schools. 

Adam Strom, director of Re-Imagining Migration, told the webinar’s 93 attendees to take an active role in combating prejudice by facing the issue head-on. He encouraged participants to address bullying against immigrant students specifically in school policy — and to teach about stereotypes without unintentionally reinforcing them. 

“Xenophobia harms all kids,” he said, “particularly immigrant youth.” 

The meeting came two weeks after former President Donald Trump claimed during a presidential debate that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were killing and eating their neighbors’ pets. Debunked by multiple official sources, Trump and his Republican running mate, JD Vance, have persisted in repeating the lie, which resulted in bomb threats that shuttered six Springfield schools and two local colleges. 

Less than 30 miles away in Dayton, Joni Watson, a retired public school teacher, works for an adult literacy nonprofit that helps participants earn their GED. Watson’s group also helps Dayton-area newcomers learn to read and write English through free one-on-one tutoring. 

“This topic is near and dear to my heart as I am really in the thick of it on a daily basis,” she told The 74. “I am just sick about what Vance and Trump are doing and saying.”

In a pre-webinar survey of 74 respondents, 31% said they knew of immigrant children who had reported being bullied or teased at school. Twenty-three percent said they heard students make anti-immigrant comments on campus this school year while another 23% heard staff make such statements since the beginning of the year. Eleven percent said they heard or witnessed staffers make anti-immigrant comments to families and caregivers.  

Strom advised educators to reach out to young immigrants and their families to check in on how they are feeling during this turbulent time and to tell all students that bullying of newcomers is unacceptable. He said, too, that educators should respond immediately when such incidents occur. 

During the session, Strom unveiled Re-Imagining Migration’s new Rumor Review App. The AI-powered tool, which fed off thousands of pages of information from the organization’s website, including reports and lesson plans, was developed to help users identify misinformation. 

It encourages them to check the validity of such claims by consulting credible fact-checking sites such as Snopes — and to learn and spread correct information to their school communities. Since putting Springfield in the crosshairs, Trump has moved to inciting false fears over immigrant communities in Aurora, Colorado and Charleroi, Pennsylvania.

Psychotherapist Liz Carrasco said she wanted to attend the webinar because she’s seen the impact of hate speech on her students. 

“Many worry that their families could be torn apart, or that they will face discrimination in their pursuit of education and work,” she said. “For these students, political rhetoric is not just words — it has very real and immediate consequences for their safety and their future.”

A U.S. citizen who was born in Mexico, Carrasco works with UNLV PRACTICE Nevada Rural Communities Mental Health Outreach Program, which supports young people ages 12-25, and teaches at the university’s School of Social Work. Carrasco, who was not speaking on behalf of UNLV, said she works with immigrants who have gone through horrific ordeals, including some who were victims of human trafficking.

Strom asked participants to be honest about whether and how they teach about migration and instructed them to develop better, more robust lessons that capture immigrant students’ experiences. 

He said this can be done at all grade levels.  

“Think about how you might use childrens’ books to normalize the stories of newcomers,” he said during the hour-long event.  

Anindita Das, community engagement strategist at an Iowa college, said she was compelled to attend the event because reducing prejudice helps build a more inclusive and harmonious society.

“Being an immigrant myself, I know immigrants bring diverse cultures, perspectives and experiences, enriching the social fabric of the host country,” she said. “Immigrants contribute significantly to the economy through their labor, entrepreneurship and innovation. Addressing prejudice ensures they can fully participate and contribute.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story had an outdated description of Liz Carrasco’s job with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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