ICE operations have been reported in several states, prompting people to warn one another whenever they believe agents have been spotted. That’s what one woman did when she posted a TikTok video alerting viewers that ICE was in Hawaii. However, that wasn’t her main concern. She went on to claim that her grandson’s school had given him an assignment that she believed crossed a line and appeared to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to her, the assignment was called “Family Migration Project.” In the video, she began reading through the assignment’s instructions, saying the questions and prompts felt unsettling. It reportedly started by asking students how many people were in their family, followed by requests to name each family member. From there, she said, the assignment only became more troubling.
The woman from Hawaii continued reading through the assignment in her video. One of the next questions asked, “Which member migrated your family to Hawaii?” The assignment then instructed students to send photos of their families to the school’s email address. She expressed disbelief as she kept going, explaining that the assignment also asked students what country they were from. Once again, it requested photos, this time of the student’s family in their home country. According to the woman, the questions became increasingly personal, with many of them centering on the family’s immigration history and status. She made a point to clarify that her own family was born and raised in Hawaii, underscoring why she found the assignment so alarming.
She also pointed out how strange it was that her grandson had never received an assignment like this in all his years of schooling. The woman then claimed that the school had sent this “[expletive]” to every student, which, in her view, suggested they were assuming all students were immigrants. That said, her claims remain alleged. She never showed the assignment on camera, even though she stated she was holding it in her hand. Still, if her account were accurate, the information requested in the assignment would contain exactly the kind of personal details that could be useful to ICE agents attempting to identify immigrant families.
People Reacting to the Hawaii Woman’s Claims
Many people said they believed the Hawaii woman’s claims, arguing that schools are capable of taking actions like this. Since there is no clear reason for schools to cooperate with ICE, one commenter questioned the situation outright, asking, “Why are the schools collaborating with ICE???” Others suggested the woman was telling the truth, claiming similar assignments had been given elsewhere. When one person asked, “is this real??????,” another replied, “she is not the only one who posted. It’s in other states also.” A teacher eventually weighed in, offering professional context. “So I teach US history. Part of that is the immigrant experience. The project is would do would be a poster and they could either share their immigrant story or research some well known immigrants. Never to the level this project is asking. There is only negative intent behind this one. Ours was to celebrate immigrants.”
Several people went even further, encouraging the Hawaii woman to have her grandson refuse to complete the assignment altogether. “My kid will be getting a zero for that project,” one person wrote. Another advised a different approach, saying, “I mean, don’t do the assignment. Share the assignment with your representatives but don’t do the assignment.” Others took the suggestions to more extreme levels. One commenter mockingly proposed what images should be submitted, writing, “SEND THEM THREE PICTURES OF THE LIST OF KNOWN ICE AGENTS.” Another woman added a historical angle, commenting, “Show them history documents of when the US held hawaiis queen captive until she signed the papers allowibg hawaii to be talen over by the US to try to protect her people. We natives on the mainland see you!”
As reactions escalated, the situation began to move far beyond concern over a school assignment, highlighting how quickly online outrage can spiral out of control.
