A New York City school is drawing heavy backlash after a viral video depicted an anti-United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest inside a classroom.
Libs of TikTok shared a video on Sunday, Feb. 1, that was filmed at the Chloe Day School & Wellness Center in Harlem, N.Y., this past Friday to coincide with National Shutdown Day. The video begins with Dr. Sanayi Beckles-Canton, the school’s director, standing in front of a group of children and staff and bemoaning the “violent acts” taking place in New York City.
“It’s too cold outside for us to go outside and protest,” Beckles-Canton says. “Our teachers cannot walk off the job and leave our children unsupervised. So today, we decided, in solidarity, we would support all those who are out protesting the violence that we see and the harm that we see happening to our friends.”
Beckles-Canton then calls on several students to share how they feel and what they want to see changed in the U.S. government. Some students are also seen holding signs in the background, though the angles of the video make it difficult to read what the signs say. One sign, held by a teacher, reads “We are stronger together.”
BREAKING: Chloe Day School in New York held an anti-ICE protest at school where kindergartners held anti-ICE and anti-Trump signs
Little kids were encouraged to say they’re angry at ICE and the Trump admin for arresting criminal illegals
Crazy as hell pic.twitter.com/WnRQmyo9MK
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 1, 2026
The first student who speaks references children being “taken away from their families.” Beckles-Canton then has children finish her sentences, beginning with “hating” when she asks what they want to see stop. The class then says “enough is enough” when prompted by Beckles-Canton.
At no point are ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, or President Donald Trump explicitly mentioned in the clip. However, references to being unable to protest outside because of the weather, along with lines about children being taken from their families, make it evident that the gathering was intended to function as an anti-ICE protest.
The Libs of TikTok video had over 800,000 views as of publication and drew no shortage of furious responses. Various X users questioned the legality and ethics of holding a protest at a school — particularly one involving such young children.
“This should be illegal and these people should be arrested,” one commenter wrote. They later added that the school is “literally programming our children to hate authority. This is unacceptable and it needs to be addressed immediately. These kids cannot comprehend the complexities of our politics or laws. They are producing future citizens for their political cause.”
Parents: Find out what’s going on at your child’s schools without your knowledge or consent!!! https://t.co/YTxTiSFBbh
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) February 1, 2026
“They should be learning the alphabet or simple addition, not being groomed into cancerous ideological thinking at the hands of adults,” read another response.
The school had not publicly addressed the criticism as of publication. Beckles-Canton is also a member of the Citywide Council on Special Education, which also had not commented as of Sunday afternoon.
Chloe Day School & Wellness Center describes itself as a “trauma-informed preschool.” According to the school’s website, its official mission is to “nurture the whole child’s early learning experience — supporting physical, cognitive, social-emotional, mental, and spiritual development. Through play, exploration, and social interaction, we prepare preschool children and their families to recognize their unique potential as lifelong learners and leaders.”
The school also lists “social justice and respect for diverse experiences, cultures, ways of learning, and ideas” among its core values.
“Anyone who understands the thought processes of children at that age, knows that they want [to] please adults, so it’s quite easy to manipulate them,” read one response.
