The Florida Education Association (FEA) held a press conference on February 5, 2026, at a time when students across the country were walking out of their schools in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to Social Equity and Education (SEE) Alliance executive director and founder Zander Moricz—one of the speakers at the FEA's press conference—such things are "required."
"When Florida students are confronted with videos of ICE raids, of families being torn apart, and of Americans being murdered for using their constitutional rights, they respond, they organize, they speak out, and they do what American students have always done in moments of injustice," he said. "They stand together and demand safety for their peers, their families and themselves."
"That response, while framed by some politicians as radical, is reasonable," Moricz continued. "It's rational, and in a moment like this, it is required."
The comments took off on social media and online blogs, where clips of the speech continue to circulate.
American education policy expert and school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis says Andrew Spar, the president of the FEA, is now "backpedaling."
"He's replying to a bunch of people that have shared this video saying, 'That wasn't an official union representative; that was just someone that spoke at our official press conference,'" DeAngelis recently relayed to American Family Radio.
He responded by pointing out that the FEA only had a handful of people speak at that press conference, and no one said anything to condemn Moricz's remarks.
Spar also claims the union has not taken a position on the anti-ICE student walkouts, but DeAngelis pointed out that having someone at their official press conference say that protesting ICE is required "looks bad for the union."
