Fresno teacher questions students’ immigration status and insults Mexicans during class
Students at Roosevelt High School captured audio of a longtime Fresno Unified teacher making racist and insulting comments about Mexicans and undocumented immigrants while questioning students about their legal status during class.
The teacher’s racist remarks came days during a week of heightened tension in Fresno’s largest school district over immigrants’ rights.
Tens of thousands of students in Fresno Unified, including about half of students at Roosevelt High, skipped school on Monday to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration policies . Hundreds more students at McLane High School walked out of school Friday afternoon in protest of potential mass deportations in the Central Valley.
The incident at Roosevelt High happened Wednesday during instruction and involved a retired substitute teacher who was a longtime educator at the high school, according to students.
According to audio recordings of the incident obtained by The Bee, the teacher asked students how long they’ve been living in the United States and who had been in the country the least amount of time. The teacher also asked students to show him proof of their citizenship status.
“I had a student one time, she pulled out her wallet, she pulled out an ID card, you know what kind of ID card it was? It was an alien resident card. It said ‘alien,’” the teacher told students.
The teacher also criticized U.S. immigration enforcement efforts and, in recounting a conversation with a friend, made demeaning remarks against Mexicans.
“One day I was talking to him, and I know what he felt, but I said ‘Look, let’s say these people coming in from Mexico — you’re telling me we can’t stop it?’ Is it impossible to stop?” the teacher told students. “Are the Mexicans so sneaky, so clever, so smart? No.”
Roosevelt High Principal Michael Allen told parents Thursday that officials learned of the incident late Wednesday. “A substitute teacher asked students inappropriate questions about how long they have been in the country, resident cards and other topics that go against our district’s values and policies.”
A directive from the Trump administration allows for a wider range of immigration enforcement activities in sensitive locations such as courthouses, churches and public schools once generally deemed off limits. The directive has heightened concern among many undocumented students and families in the region over potential immigration enforcement activity in schools.
Allen on Thursday sought to reassure families that the school, whose student population is 82% Latino or Hispanic, “is a safe and welcoming place for all students and families, no matter their immigration status.”
Fresno Unified denounced the teacher’s behavior in a statement Thursday and said it “is not acceptable in any of our classrooms.”
The district declined to comment on how and whether the teacher was disciplined, as well as whether he would be allowed to continue substitute teaching in the school district.
Students also said the teacher has made other racist comments in past years as a full-time teacher at Roosevelt High.
“I can’t confirm or deny any previous incidents due to privacy laws for personnel but I can say that these situations can only be acted upon when they are reported,” said Fresno Unified spokesperson Nikki Henry.
Roosevelt parents were upset when they heard about the incident and some demanded the school district ban the teacher from subbing in Fresno schools.
“I hope his name gets around, stopping him from going to Madera Unified or Kings Unified, or all other high schools around the Valley,” said Phillip Chavez, a parent of a Roosevelt High senior.
This story was originally published February 7, 2025 at 2:31 PM.
