FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: John Dyrcz
February 23, 2025 505-554-8679

Las Cruces – American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Whitney Holland, National Education Association New Mexico President Mary Parr-Sanchez, NEA Las Cruces President Julie Wojtko and Vice President Denise Sheehan, and Classified School Employees Council-Las Cruces (CSEC-LC) President Irma Valdespino and Vice President Charles Cotton released the following statement:

“We are deeply troubled by reports from educators and chaperones in the Las Cruces Public Schools who reported agents assigned to a federal checkpoint north of Las Cruces boarded a chartered bus carrying student athletes and demanded documentation and proof of citizenship.

“As educators, the chilling effects of actions such as these are detrimental to the wellbeing of our student population, their families, and our larger community. Under no circumstance should students be harassed, intimidated, or frightened by federal agents either while in school or while participating in school activities.

“One of the core tenets of public education is to serve our students, regardless of country of origin or citizenship status. The trauma from this incident is already widespread in our school community and will impact our students far into the future. We appreciate the proactive steps the Las Cruces Public Schools administration has taken to adopt policies and strategies to prevent this from occurring in the future.

“Furthermore, we call upon our federal delegation to seek answers about the circumstances of this incident and uplift the needs of our Las Cruces community in order for our rights as educators and students to be respected and our communities to not live in fear under the Trump Administration.”