As federal immigration agents step up enforcement operations across Chicago, a growing network of volunteers in Albany Park has formed an unexpected lifeline for local immigrant families: a walking school bus that escorts children to and from school each day, reported WTTW News.
The effort emerged shortly after residents noticed a stark shift in neighborhood life. As explained by volunteer Alyssa May, the impact of the increased raids was immediate. “The moment that the raids started happening and people started getting pulled off the street, you could just see it,” May said via the article. “You could see less students, less families, less vendors. And it really did change. It just became a really quiet place.”
Fearing arrest, many parents have been hesitant to leave their homes, even to bring their children to school. In response, a group of mothers, teachers and community members reportedly came together to ensure students could still make it to class safely and consistently.
May now leads one of the daily walking routes for an elementary school in the neighborhood, guiding children whose parents are too afraid to accompany them. She estimates that between 80 and 100 students are picked up each morning. Out of precaution, volunteers asked that the school remain unnamed due to ongoing immigration enforcement in the area.
For many children, the walking school bus has become more than just a mode of transportation. Teacher Dulce Jimenez said the routine helps restore a sense of stability. “The kids have gotten to know the volunteers and like walking to school with their friends,” Jimenez said via the news report. “They’re kind of not even realizing the distraction that was created and what we’re trying to close off for them.”
For volunteers like Maggie Cullerton Hooper, the community’s response has been both inspiring and necessary. “It is really very heartening to see just how much we will all show up to be a part of making sure that all of our kids are safe, that all of our people are safe,” Hooper told local news reporters.
For May, who is also a mother, the work feels deeply personal. She recalled seeing fear on the children’s faces during the afternoon pick-up. “You could kind of sense at pick-up the fear of some of the kids of, like, will I come home to an empty house?” she said. “We still have to sit with that and know that that is a reality, but at least they are getting one bright simple spot every day.”
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