Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made headlines last month by shipping a relative handful of unsuspecting Venezuelan immigrants, like cargo, to Martha's Vineyard. But the lessons that young people in this country are learning from that episode are entirely the wrong ones. It is time for teachers, parents, and our community of neighbors to change the way we talk about the cruel nature of politics and the inhumane treatment of immigrants in this country.
As usual, the news is focused on talking about immigrants, not on talking with them. There are nearly half a million undocumented students in the U.S. schools today listening carefully to how teachers discuss the economics, policies or moral arguments around immigration policies. More likely, however, these students — and their more than 75 million classmates — are learning the uncompromising lessons of silence, apathy, inaction and fear.
