In early September, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ran a five-day operation across Indiana that led to 426 arrests. ICE didn't tell the public until nearly two weeks later, and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett says his office wasn't given advance notice either.

The ripple effects hit kids hardest. One school on Indianapolis's west side normally sees 95% of its students show up every day. By the end of that week, attendance had fallen to as low as 40%. Families were too afraid to send their kids to class. "This is impacting everybody, no matter what (legal) status they have," the school's administrator told WFYI.

ICE says the operation targeted people with serious criminal histories and gang ties. But according to an analysis of ICE's own data reported by NPR, roughly 70% of people currently in ICE detention nationwide have no criminal convictions at all. When enforcement activity surges near neighborhoods and school zones without warning, it's children who stop showing up to learn — regardless of their own immigration status or their family's.

Every kid in Indianapolis deserves to get to school without fear. We're calling on Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE's Indianapolis field leadership to keep enforcement operations away from schools, school pickup and drop-off times, and school-adjacent neighborhoods, and to give local officials like Mayor Hogsett advance notice before large-scale operations that will affect the community.

Kids can't learn if they're too scared to leave home. Sign the petition to keep ICE enforcement away from Indianapolis schools — before more classrooms sit empty.