Parent Teacher Association officials in one of the wealthiest school districts in the country hosted a training session last month instructing families on how to respond to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity.

The virtual PTA session in Montgomery County, Maryland, was held on Jan. 20 and was headed by Councilwoman Kristin Mink. The meeting was titled "ICE Response & Organizing Tools for PTAs, Parents & Guardians." 

According to the National Review, Mink has previously hosted multiple sessions on ways schools can equip themselves with "tools to slow ICE down and protect each other." The training guided parents on how to escort students with illegal immigrant parents, and encouraged volunteers to monitor ICE activity during drop‑off and pickup, and introduced ways to support families affected by ICE arrests and deportations.

During the session, Mink reportedly presented comprehensive "rapid response" guidance she had created and shared publicly three days earlier. 

In one slide, Mink outlined how "White allies" could assist and support the community, advising them not to use whistles to counter "ICE violence," which has become a widespread form of community resistance. She argued that White individuals should avoid using a tool that, in her view, reinforces authority associated with Whiteness.

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"Especially for White allies, whistles can represent a subconscious desire for authority, protection, or control in moments of crisis," the slide said. 

"But rapid response is not about assuming authority. . . . When we question decisions made by those impacted, we risk centering our own comfort instead of impacted people."

She added that "What feels ‘activating’ or empowering to some can cause stress to others," noting that "Black and Brown communities are already overexposed to chronic noise pollution due to racist zoning, redlining, and disinvestment."

She further addressed, in the slide, how certain characteristics — such as gender, sexuality, and education — align with positions of power or marginalization.

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Last September, the Department of Homeland Security clarified that, contrary to what it described as "fearmongering" by sanctuary politicians, "ICE is not conducting enforcement operations at, or ‘raiding,’ schools."

Mink's presentation aligns with a recent wave within the anti-ICE movement, where immigrant-led organizations clashed with predominantly White "rapid response" activists over the use of whistles during immigration raids. Groups like the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) and Maryland-based coalitions argue that blowing whistles is a "White Savior" tactic that creates unnecessary panic and escalates tension.

The Jan. 20 meeting sparked further controversy, with critics arguing that parent-teacher organizations should prioritize academic success rather than engaging in political activism.

"It goes without saying, PTAs should focus on their original intent: students — not injecting inflammatory and divisive political rhetoric into the community," Kendall Tietz, investigative reporter at Defending Education, told the National Review.

The online presentation was promoted by and advertised on the Montgomery County Council of PTAs’ social media. According to the online sign-up sheet, several agencies supported the information session, including education associations, labor unions and immigration advocacy organizations. 

Many local PTAs also promoted the session on their official platforms, including those at Gaithersburg Middle School, Laytonsville Elementary School, and Stedwick Elementary School. 

FIRST ON FOX: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday will eliminate the "2009 Obama EPA Endangerment Finding," which set in motion most federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, saving Americans billions.

The 2009 development was an EPA finding that carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and three other greenhouse gases "endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations" under the Clean Air Act — leading to a slew of new restrictions and regulations.

An ensuing Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA found greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants and that if the EPA determines they endanger public health or welfare it can regulate them.

"As I traveled across all 50 states this past year, I heard from countless Americans who not only dislike the (motor-vehicle) start-stop feature but passionately advocated for this mechanism to be a thing of the past," Zeldin said of the major recission made Thursday.

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"Not only do many people find start-stop annoying, but it kills the battery of your car without any significant benefit to the environment. The Trump EPA is proudly fixing this stupid feature at Trump Speed."

Zeldin said automakers shouldn’t be forced to adopt or be rewarded for using technologies that represent a "climate participation trophy" with no meaningful reduction in actual pollution.

The former New York lawmaker said consumer choice is a priority for his agency, and that his office will continue to advocate for "commonsense rules."

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US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added in a statement that resetting of mileage standards and removal of auto-starts and other greenhouse-gas-regulation-precipitated regulations are part of President Donald Trump’s vision to lower costs and revitalize manufacturing.

All federal greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles and engines subsequent to the 2009 declaration will be rescinded, a source familiar with the situation said.

When it comes to the start-stop off-cycle technology, a credit for it was created by the EPA in 2012 and quickly infuriated motorists who hear their engine click off then on again at a stoplight or in the teller line at the bank.

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The start-stop became a regulatory loophole allowing automakers to claim greenhouse gas credits without actually delivering empirical emission-reduction or human health benefits.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move to rescind the 2009 finding will "be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations," according to multiple reports.

However, the climate change field appears eager to litigate the new rule, as the nonprofit green-focused law firm Earthjustice signaled as much to PBS.

"The Trump administration is abandoning its core responsibility to keep us safe from extreme weather and accelerating climate change," Earthjustic president Abigail Dillen told the outlet.

"There is no way to reconcile EPA's decision with the law, the science and the reality of disasters that are hitting us harder every year. Earthjustice and our partners will see the Trump administration in court."