The Progress Report: As ICE Arrests Near Schools Stack Up, Some Teachers Are Mobilizing

Erendira Ramirez’s first introduction to activism came when she worked as a substitute teacher in the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility. Her work there introduced her to the phenomenon of the school-to-prison pipeline. It also drove her to more deeply embed activism into her life and changed the way she approached teaching.

“What keeps educators in the classroom is the love of the students,” Ramirez said. “Being willing to try to improve conditions for your students not only in the classrooms, but outside, I think that that’s the biggest expression of that love.”

Over the last decade and a half, Ramirez has thrown herself more into the world of immigration advocacy. She’s since become the chair of California’s Association of Raza Educators, an organization that advocates for Hispanic