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Rhode Island high school assistant principal ‘asked teachers to raise $5,000 to pay ‘Coyote’ human smuggling cartel for smuggling a student across the Mexican border,’ union president claims
- Stefani Harvey called bootleggers ‘a group that helps people’ asking for donors
- The school denied the email was real, but the teachers union confirmed it.
- The school principal eventually sent a follow-up email calling it “not appropriate”
The assistant principal of a Rhode Island high school allegedly sent an email asking staff to send donations to pay a human smuggling cartel for smuggling a student across the border into Mexico.
‘Coyote’ fees are paid to people who help smuggle immigrants into the United States to equalize the risk of entering the country illegally.
Stefani Harvey, assistant principal at Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, sent an email obtained by reporters Thursday asking for donations for the student “coyotes,” who she says are “a group that helps people.”
There was some dispute as to the veracity of the email: the school told the daily call it was ‘false’ and said they don’t have a student who is being trafficked, but it seems to have been proven by both the teachers union president and the principal, who sent an email calling it ‘not suitable.’
The assistant principal of a Rhode Island high school allegedly sent an email asking school staff to send donations to pay for ‘coyote’ fees to help smuggle them into the United States.
Maribeth Calabro, President of the Providence Teachers Union, said WPRO she had confirmed the legitimacy of the email with the members who teach at the high school.
“I was a little taken aback by the content,” she said, “I engaged with the district, called district leaders and said ‘hey guys, what’s going on here’ and they were aware and said that when they were there they let it be known that they went into immediate investigation mode and that once the investigation was concluded, there would be correspondence.
Calabro said some of his members thought it was a scam to try to cheat members out of their social security money and said his members were “concerned.”
Tiffany Delaney, the principal of Mount Pleasant High School, confirmed and condemned the email Friday in a letter to staff.
“I appreciate the faculty and staff contributing to a cause that supports a student, but the nature of the request is not appropriate,” he wrote.
‘All funds contributed will be returned and we will look for more appropriate methods to support our students.’
The school has an enrollment of about 1,100 and has enough Spanish-speaking students that it publishes a version of its Welcome Letter to parents in Spanish.
The assistant principal at Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, Stefani Harvey, sent an email obtained by reporters Thursday asking for donations for the student “coyotes,” who she says are “a group that helps people.”
Maribeth Calabro, president of the Providence Teachers Union, told WPRO that she had confirmed the legitimacy of the email with members who teach at the high school.
Tiffany Delaney, the principal of Mount Pleasant High School, confirmed and condemned the email Friday in a letter to staff.
Mount Pleasant’s mission statement reads: ‘Mount Pleasant High School provides all students with a meaningful and purposeful education through a wealth of opportunities to be connected and feel safe within their school community.
‘They participate in rigorous, high-level programs to prepare them for college and career success. We celebrate the diversity of our community by validating and supporting students and their interests.’
Coyotes are a high-risk, often high-return business, estimated to generate $6.6 billion a year for smugglers along routes from Latin America to the US, according to a report of the United Nations in 2010.
“Smugglers use lies to lure the vulnerable into a dangerous journey that often ends in removal or death,” Chris Magnus, then-US CBP commissioner, said of the illegal activities in May.