NYC Students Forced To Go Remote as Undocumented Immigrants Take Over School

I used to think that the crisis at our southern border could not get any worse than what it’s been over the last year. President Biden’s border policies (or lack thereof) have put Americans’ safety at risk, and the national security threat grows every time a new wave of undocumented immigrants flees into the United States.

My concern and anger about this unbelievable catastrophe continue to intensify. On Wednesday, students at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York, showed up for class but were immediately sent back home for remote learning. Why? To make room for 1,900 undocumented immigrants who took over their school.

On Tuesday, January 9, the principal posted a note to the school’s website letting parents know that classes would be canceled the next day:

Dear Families,

I am writing with an update regarding the activation of James Madison High School as a temporary overnight respite center due to the forecast of potential high winds and flooding conditions beginning this evening through tomorrow morning.

To ensure a smooth transition for families temporarily sheltering overnight in the building, our school building will be closed on Wednesday, January 10 and school will be in session remotely for all students.

The thought of women and children hunkering down in freezing tents during a storm breaks my heart, but our children should not have to suffer because the Biden Administration can’t get its act together.

Classes at James Madison resumed on Thursday, January 11. But if there’s no accountability for the fact that the Biden Administration caused this crisis, you can fully expect more schools in America to force remote learning to make room for immigrants for longer than just one day, and that’s a terrifying thought.

Remember how well remote learning went during COVID? It didn’t. According to a report by the National Library of Medicine:

Remote learning has also negatively affected children’s cognitive and academic performance throughout all age groups (Colvin et al., 2022). Standardized assessments during and after obligatory confinement have revealed students’ difficulties meeting grade expectations, particularly in schools with less in-person class time (Colvin et al., 2022). Specific academic difficulties have been reported in mathematics, language, and reading skills. More than 1.5 million students from across the United States exhibited worse performance in mathematics and reading scores compared with the previous academic year (Colvin et al., 2022).

Accountability begins with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The House Homeland Security Committee held their first impeachment hearing for him on Wednesday. Since Mayorkas took office, between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, there have been 7,072,703 migrant encounters at the southern border.

In December, there were 302,000 encounters – the highest ever recorded in a single month.

And since October 1, 2023, there have been 785,000 encounters. We are already on pace to set new records in fiscal year 2024, but Mayorkas continues to defend his horrible, chaos-inducing record of doing nothing to curb this crisis. Just days ago during a press conference in Eagle Pass, Texas, he said:

We are doing everything we can within a broken system to incentivize non-citizens to use lawful pathways, to impose consequences on those who do not, and to reduce irregular migration.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but giving undocumented immigrants who illegally cross the border driver’s licenses, housing, and cell phones will in no way incentivize them to use lawful pathways.

At the ACLJ, we will continue to do everything in our power to hold this Administration accountable for the horrific border crisis it has created.