Education is supposed to be safe. What happened?
By Nick Valencia | August 13, 2025
SALT LAKE CITY— Education is supposed to be a sanctuary — a place where the only thing a child should fear is forgetting their homework. But in parts of Utah this week, the return to school carries a heavier weight. For some Latino students, it’s not just the usual jitters of a new year; it’s the gnawing anxiety of what could happen if ICE shows up.
The recent immigration raids in and around Salt Lake City have left an imprint on entire neighborhoods — a kind of collective flinch. Families are weighing whether to send their kids to school at all, and teachers are bracing for empty seats and quiet hallways.
In our extended interview with Utah’s 2021 Teacher of the Year, we hear firsthand what it means to educate through fear, and why he refuses to let his students’ dreams be collateral damage in an enforcement blitz.
