At Montgomery Blair High School, where more than half the population comes from immigrant backgrounds, the work of Montgomery Blair Students For Asylum and Immigration Reform (FAIR), the school’s chapter for asylum and immigrant rights, has taken on a special urgency. In an increasingly volatile political climate where immigrants and mixed status families live in fear of arrest and deportation, their movement has grown past just a student club. It’s a movement shaped by fear of arrest, an urge for activism and a determination to protect the community.
At the center of their work are senior and former Blair FAIR president Kyara Lira, who also serves as the countywide community director for FAIR and is a current member of Blair’s FAIR chapter, and Peter Lynch, an English teacher at Blair that sponsors FAIR’s activities.
Blair’s FAIR chapter has successfully executed a variety of activities, most notably workshops, public events and training. Its heart lies in its educational and direct-support efforts. This year, both Lynch and Lira have emphasized that their primary focus has been on “Know Your Rights” workshops as a response to rapidly escalating fears around immigration enforcement in the county.
Lynch works as the school’s staff sponsor, a role that typically doesn’t call for extensive involvement. His role, however, is expansive. As the faculty advisor, his job is to enable student leadership to flourish. “Every club at Blair needs to have a faculty advisor,” he explains, “so I’m the one that fills that role.”
The work of FAIR and the students behind it reaches far beyond typical club responsibilities. Blair’s chapter meets roughly every Monday during lunch, bringing in not only Blair students but those who work in FAIR across the county. The chapter has become one of the largest and most active in MCPS. It’s a hub for advocacy, education, support within communities and response to crises.
Lira describes the structure as one with cohesion and clarity. “Each school has their own schedule; they each have about one meeting a week.” she says. As a leader on the county level, she oversees the work of multiple chapters but Blair, her school, remains a focal point of her work as she remains an avid member of the school’s chapter, aiding in organization of events despite not having a current official leadership position.
According to Lynch, the most recent meeting was a rapid but a very influential session. “It covered what to do if you ever saw an ICE detention or arrest happening in person.” Lynch said, and it also covered how to support impacted individuals. Students learned how to distribute red cards that explained constitutional rights, and discussed communication strategies to reach those who may not know their protections. “So much of what’s important is trying to get the word out.” Lynch said. “We want to get people to understand what their rights are.”
Blair has also held ICE watch training, where people are taught how to observe, document and respond to ICE activity to protect rights and participate in fundraisers for immigrant families. Students both within and outside the club have served as translators, organizers and community liaisons, roles that many have taken on even with the stress of academics and jobs.
Apart from more public events, FAIR has also taken on more private, but equally important, work. Lynch described a stand-by guardianship workshop, in which the club aided students and caregivers with learning how to manage situations where it may be needed. Stand-by guardianship is a way for parents that are potentially at risk for deportation to legally assign caretakers for their children. Blair students volunteered to interpret paperwork, support families and ensure they understood their options. “That was a smaller event that didn’t get a lot of press, it wasn’t in the news, but it was still really important.” Lynch said. For him, seeing students step in was very meaningful. “They were able to use their bilingual skills to help others and realize what exactly was going on and take action.”
Since Lynch and Lira have been a part of FAIR, one specific achievement stands out as a huge success: last year, with Lira as president of FAIR, the club successfully executed a schoolwide walkout following several ICE detentions in the community and the deportation of a Blair student. It successfully brought together hundreds of students across racial, cultural and grade-based lines.
Students participate in a walkout. Photo courtesy of Students For Asylum and Immigration Reform.
“For many of them, that was one of the first times they had made their voice heard like that.” Lynch reflected. “I had friends from across the country that said, ‘Hey, don’t you teach at Blair? I think I saw them on the news tonight,’ and a lot of kids expressed the same thing.” A few students from Blair spoke for the whole school publicly about the fear immigrant households felt, while County Councilmember Kristin Mink also appeared to address the crowd.
Lira, who coordinated the walkout, saw it as a defining movement in student activism at her school. “It was a pretty big movement at my school but also across the county.” she said. “It sparked another protest at Albert Einstein High School with their minority scholars program and their FAIR chapter. It really brought light to students and their voices with all of the problems happening right now with the federal government and ICE.”
The two emphasized that the walkout was never about publicity, but was instead more about solidarity. “I heard from students that said ‘I knew other people cared about this and were upset about it, but I didn’t know just how many people were willing to walk out of school to demonstrate and protest.’” Lynch recalled. “To see [students] of all different races and cultural backgrounds come together meant a lot.”
In the current political climate, FAIR’s activism and work is particularly important. “What we’re going through right now is not normal.” Lynch said. He described images of people being taken away in vans by masked agents, conversations with students about what to do if a family member is detained and the heightened sense of fear that has become a routine part of school communities. “We’re in a moment right now that is unusual and scary,” he commented. “Sometimes there’s an inclination to ignore it, to try to bury your head, to act like nothing’s going on.” Lynch believes coming together to protest is a direct form of resistance.
For Lira, the chapter’s importance is equally clear but grounded in the emotional and communal space FAIR is able to provide. “Kids all over Montgomery County can have a place where they can go and feel safe,” she said. “It’s like a sanctuary for a lot of them.” The chapter not only welcomes kids directly impacted by the new immigration policies but also allies who want to learn how to best support their peers. “It’s a place where students can best come together and even involve the community around their schools,” she said.
Lynch sees the student-driven organization at the heart of what education and the educational system should truly look like. “If I had to choose between seeing a student getting an A in their history class or taking a step to helping their community, I’m choosing the latter every time,” he said.
As they reflect on past accomplishments, the chapter still stays looking ahead to future events. Blair’s FAIR has a series of potential future projects that include continuing “Know Your Rights” education at the school and county level, having guest speakers, collaborating with FAIR chapters across Montgomery County high schools, writing testimonies, writing letters to support local immigrant families and a holiday pro-drive to gather supplies and donations for community members in need.
The strength of Blair’s FAIR chapter lies not only in the events that they organize and execute, but in the values that they faithfully model and prioritize: most notably solidarity, courage and a determination to face injustices. In a political climate where immigrant or mixed status families live with a heightened sense of fear, the chapter’s work becomes increasingly protective and also empowering for its participants.
“These are kids that are signing up and looking to help out. If I can be of any help, I’m more than happy to do that.” Lynch said resolutely. For Lira, who has been an active and important member of Blair’s FAIR chapter for a long time, its goal remains in its creation of a haven for the students that seek it and its amplification of voices that often go unheard.
At Blair, it’s fair to say that FAIR has become more than just a club. It’s become a lifeline for students, a strong force of activism, and a testament to what students can do when they come together. In a time where many students and community members feel powerless, FAIR’s work proves that young people are capable and ready to lead.
Written by Gabriela Ugaz
Photo courtesy of Students For Asylum and Immigration Reform