A Texas teacher sparked backlash after calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to raid their school – claiming many teen pupils “don’t even speak English”.
The Fort Worth Independent School District is investigating the substitute teacher who was working at North Side High School after they allegedly posted a raft of inflammatory comments to X in the wake of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The suspect responded to an ICE enforcement update on X on Friday, reporting 538 arrests and an additional 373 illegal migrants in custody, under the account @HookEm232, which has since been made private. The educator’s identity has not yet been revealed.
“Yall should come to Fort Worth, TX to Northside High School. I have many students who don’t even speak English and they are in 10th-11th grade,” the post read.
“They have to communicate through their iPhone translator with me. The [U.S. Department of Education] should totally overhaul our school system in Texas too.”
Trump signed a deluge of executive orders related to immigration due to an “unconscionable risk” to public safety and national security, a White House official said last Monday.
Some of Trump’s orders were signed with the aim of expanding ICE’s ability to arrest and detain unlawful migrants in the U.S., including one which rescinded restrictions surrounding immigration raids in areas deemed “sensitive” – including schools.
In a separate post, @HookEm232 condemned a North Carolina teacher vowing to continue pushing diversity, equity, and inclusion and critical race theory initiatives after Trump signed an executive order promising to dismantle DEI programs last week.
“I teach with these f**king libt***s every day and that’s what I talk to no one at work except the kids,” the account tweeted.
Fort Worth ISD said it was aware of the social media posts and is conducting an investigation into the educator in question.
“We are aware of a recent social media post referencing North Side High School which was allegedly made by a substitute teacher and has caused concern among our Fort Worth ISD community,” FWISD wrote in a statement in both English and Spanish late on Saturday.
“We take this matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation to understand the circumstances and ensure appropriate actions are taken.”
The employee has been removed from campus while the investigation is underway, the school district said.
An hour after the statement, parents received a message of support from Fort Worth ISD’s Interim Superintendent Karen Molinar amid Trump’s immigration actions.
There are approximately 111,000 undocumented K-12 school students, according to a 2021 report commissioned by immigration advocacy group FWD.us.
As the president’s first week in office drew to a close on Sunday, a protest broke out in Fort Worth calling for protection of children in the region.
“Just on Friday, three of my parents said they were not sending their kids to school anymore because they’re afraid,” third grade teacher Jeanette Martinez told Fox 4.
“They don’t know, they don’t know all this is evil, they’re just trying to get an education, children should not be afraid, they should not.”
The Independent has contacted senior staff from both Fort Worth ISD and North Side High School for more information.
