The nation’s largest teachers union is facing criticism for encouraging student walkouts, promoting anti-immigration enforcement messaging, and raising money around opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Radio host Ari Hoffman highlighted the activism of the National Education Association on Thursday, drawing attention to an email campaign titled “Hold ICE Accountable and Prioritize Student, Community Safety.”
The message urges supporters to oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and warns that the agency “will bring their brutality to other states unless we act.” Recipients are encouraged to contact members of Congress through a prewritten form letter calling for limits on ICE operations.
The campaign website also invites visitors to sign up for union alerts and fundraising appeals related to immigration enforcement issues.
In addition to email outreach, the NEA has published multiple statements and opinion pieces on its website calling for ICE to be removed from local communities. Critics argue that the organization is moving beyond its role as an education-focused union and inserting itself into national political debates unrelated to classroom instruction.
Opponents also say the union has promoted misleading claims suggesting that ICE regularly enters schools to detain students. Federal authorities have repeatedly stated that enforcement actions are not conducted on school campuses, and there have been no verified reports of widespread school raids.
Despite this, student walkouts protesting ICE have taken place in cities across the country, often with the involvement of teachers or administrators.
In Seattle, students participating in recent walkouts were reportedly involved in property damage and confrontations. In Nebraska, a student was injured during a school-sponsored street march supporting illegal immigration, prompting outrage from her mother, who said school officials had put children at risk.
In Round Rock, Texas, another parent criticized a school district for using official email accounts to encourage students to participate in an anti-ICE walkout.
State leaders have begun responding to the growing protests.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he would not allow schools to become platforms for political activism.
“Our kids are not pawns for political activism. Education, not indoctrination,” DeSantis wrote on social media.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott also warned educators that they could face pay deductions if they permit students to leave class for political demonstrations.
Supporters of the walkouts argue that students have a right to protest and speak out on social issues. Critics, however, say that organized demonstrations promoted by school officials cross the line into political advocacy and disrupt learning.
The controversy highlights a growing national debate over the role of public schools and teachers unions in political activism, particularly on issues related to immigration enforcement.
