Dear Mayor O’Connell and Dr. Battle,  

We’re students in Nashville, writing to you from a place of deep fear of what has been happening, but with the hope that things can get better. We saw what happened last weekend, on May 3rd and 4th: One of our most vibrant Latino neighborhoods saw a series of detainments by Homeland Security, tearing apart families and leaving greater Nashville in shock.  

Already, we’ve felt the effects ripple through our classrooms, our homes, and our hearts. The streets were silent. Some of our classmates never showed up out of fear. Mothers and fathers never came home. And today, no one is talking about homework—we're just asking who’s next. We’re young but we understand what it means when our community members disappear overnight. It means something is broken.

We’re just kids. We wake up, go to school, hang out with our friends, and try to make our parents proud. But now, we’re carrying fear like it’s part of our backpack. That’s not what growing up should feel like. But after last weekend, it’s hard to feel anything else. Now, we find ourselves asking questions no student should have to ask: “What if ICE comes to my school?” “What happens if my parents don't come home?” “Is my city going to protect me?”

We know you care. We know how much work you’ve done to support us—how hard you’ve fought to make our schools better, safer, stronger. But we need you now more than ever. Because no matter what uniforms they wear or what laws they quote, ICE came into our city and tore holes in families. We watched it happen.  

HB6001 is trying to stop you from standing up for us. It tells you to stay quiet. But we’re asking you—please don’t. That law is wrong. It’s unconstitutional. It’s cruel. And we believe you can still say what matters: Nashville protects all its people. 

We need real protection. We need you to introduce specific protections for schools and places that we go to. We need to know that ICE won’t be waiting at our schools, or at the park, or near the bus stop. We need you to make it clear: Nashville’s schools, community centers, libraries—every place where young people gather—are safe. They are off-limits. Last weekend, it was traffic stops. We are terrified that our schools will be next.

We know you can’t fix everything. But we also know silence hurts more than any law. So please—say something. Do something. Tell ICE they are not welcome here. Not in our city. Not around our classrooms. Not near our lives. We’re trying so hard to be brave. But we’re tired. We want to go to school without fear. We want to be kids. We want to breathe without wondering what could happen to us and our loved ones.

Please, stand with us.  

In pursuit of freedom,

Nashville Students

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