Texas teacher singles out Latino student during SB-1070 discussion, says Mexicans always ‘expect handouts.’

By Andrea Nill The San Antonio News reports that a Jefferson High School English teacher has been “removed from the classroom” for singling out a Latino student wearing a Mexican soccer jersey and publicly insulting him. According to the student, Augustine Ortiz, what began as a discussion about Arizona’s new immigration law (SB-1070) escalated to an anti-Latino, racist attack:

Ortiz, who was wearing a jersey from a Mexican soccer team, said the teacher told him to sit in the front row. She proceeded to single him out repeatedly, Ortiz said, pointing at him as she made comments like, “The Mexicans with their attitudes are the racist ones.” Continuing to point at Ortiz, she allegedly told the class that Mexicans always “expect handouts” and “soon it’s going to be the United States of Mexico,” according to Ortiz. [...]

Another student in the class that day, Reina Mondragon, 18, corroborated Ortiz’s story. “The kind of discussion that we had on Thursday, May 6, wasn’t like the discussions that we normally have,” she said, adding the teacher questioned why documents in the United States frequently are translated into Spanish and whether Mexicans should be allowed to own land in this country.

According to Ortiz, when he went to complain about the incident, the vice principal “brushed him off.” Once the school’s principal learned of the incident, administrators removed the teacher and launched an investigation. Ortiz also noted that the English teacher had actually been his favorite instructor. “She actually said we need to stand up for what we believe in,” he said. “And now I’m standing up for what I believe in.”