Highline School Board Director Damarys Espinoza said she has remained focused on supporting students and families amid increased immigration enforcement activity in the region, even while stepping back from social media to focus on parenting and public service.
Espinoza beat challenger Ken Kemp in the Nov. 4 Highline School District Director District 4 election, earning 12,704 votes (58.55 percent) to Kemp’s 8,887 votes (40.96 percent), according to King County Elections data.
In a statement shared on Facebook, Espinoza said she paused online activity while tending to her responsibilities as a parent and as a newly elected school board director, but said her work with families continued during that time.
“I stayed steady, present, and focused on what mattered most,” Espinoza wrote.
Espinoza said she has been working with Mary’s Place to help keep Highline families housed while families report growing fear related to immigration/ICE enforcement. She said parents have told her their children are afraid that their parents could be taken and that they may never see them again, and that those fears follow students into their classrooms each day.
“That fear does not stay at home. It enters our classrooms every day,” she wrote.
Earlier this week, Espinoza said she and her family attended the Farmworker Tribunal in Olympia, an event they have participated in for years because of family ties to farmworker organizing. She said her five-year-old daughter became fearful that speaking up for farmworker and immigrant rights could put families at risk.
“While we were there, my five-year-old daughter began to cry,” she said. “She was afraid that simply being present and speaking up for farmworker and immigrant rights could put families at risk. In that moment, I saw the same fear that so many of our students live with every day.”
She said the experience strengthened her resolve to continue advocating for student and family safety across the Highline School District.
“As a school board director, I remain committed to continuing to do what is necessary to keep our students and families safe,” Espinoza wrote. “I will continue partnering with schools, families, community organizations, and other elected leaders to ensure our communities are places of safety, care, and dignity for every student and family.”
Highline Public Schools District 4 represents a large portion of southwest King County, including parts of Burien, SeaTac, Des Moines and Normandy Park, stretching from the Puget Sound shoreline east to areas near International Boulevard and I-5, and south into North Des Moines neighborhoods.
Full Statement
Here’s Espinoza’s full statement:
“Dear community,
“I have been off social media for a while, tending to my responsibilities as a parent to children whose communities are under attack and as a newly elected school board director.
“During this time, I have found strength and healing in my family and in our community, even as we navigate moments of deep suffering and injustice.
“While I stepped back from social media, the work did not stop. I stayed steady, present, and focused on what mattered most.
“I have been showing up for students and families, working to help keep Highline families housed during increased ICE activity in our region through my work with Mary’s Place. Over the past few weeks, families have shared something deeply urgent with me. The fear their children carry. The fear that their parents could be taken and that they may never see them again. That fear does not stay at home. It enters our classrooms every day.
“Earlier this week in Olympia, that fear came close to home. My family and I attended the Farmworker Tribunal, something we have done for years because my children come from a proud family of farmworker organizers. While we were there, my five-year-old daughter began to cry. She was afraid that simply being present and speaking up for farmworker and immigrant rights could put families at risk. In that moment, I saw the same fear that so many of our students live with every day.
“That experience only strengthened my resolve.
“As a school board director, I remain committed to continuing to do what is necessary to keep our students and families safe. I will continue partnering with schools, families, community organizations, and other elected leaders to ensure our communities are places of safety, care, and dignity for every student and family.
“– Damarys”
“Querida comunidad,
“He estado fuera de las redes sociales por un tiempo, cuidando mis responsabilidades como mamá de niños cuyas comunidades están siendo atacadas y como directora recién elegida de la junta escolar.
“En este tiempo, he encontrado fuerza y consuelo en mi familia y en nuestra comunidad, aun cuando estamos viviendo momentos de sufrimiento e injusticia.
“Aunque no he estado en redes sociales, el trabajo no se detuvo. He seguido firme, presente y enfocada en lo que más importa.
“He estado apoyando a estudiantes y familias, ayudando a que las familias de Highline puedan seguir en sus hogares durante el aumento de actividad de ICE en nuestra región, a través de mi trabajo con Mary’s Place. En las últimas semanas, muchas familias me han compartido algo muy importante. El miedo que sienten sus hijos. El miedo de que sus padres puedan ser llevados y que tal vez no los vuelvan a ver. Ese miedo no se queda en casa. Llega todos los días nuestras escuelas.
“A principios de esta semana en Olympia, ese miedo llegó a mi familia. Mi familia y yo estuvimos en el Tribunal de Campesinos, algo que hemos hecho por muchos años porque venimos de una familia orgullosa de organizadores campesinos. Mientras estábamos ahí, mi hija de cinco años empezó a llorar. Tenía miedo de que solo estar ahí y hablar por los derechos de las familias inmigrantes pudiera poner a otras familias en riesgo. En ese momento, vi el mismo miedo que muchos estudiantes sienten todos los días.
“Eso me dio más fuerza para seguir.
“Como directora de la junta escolar, sigo comprometida a hacer lo necesario para mantener a nuestros estudiantes y familias a salvo. Seguiré trabajando junto a las escuelas, las familias, las organizaciones comunitarias y otros líderes para asegurar que nuestras comunidades sean lugares de seguridad, cuidado y dignidad para cada estudiante y cada familia.
“- Damarys”
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