Montebello High School flag flipping incident, 2006

The Montebello High School flag flipping incident, 2006 was a local incident that became a flashpoint for critics of illegal immigration.

The Incident

In response to proposed federal legislation regulating illegal immigration Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and Central Americans organized nationwide demonstrations scheduled for March 27, 2006. Part of this demonstration was the encouragement of Mexican/Central American students to walk out of schools across the nation at a set time.

Students from the surrounding area complied with this, and pulled down the American flag flying in front of the Montebello High School, placing a Mexican flag followed by the American flag, flying upside down.

The Montebello Unified School District released the following press release on March 29, 2006:"On Monday, March 27, 2006 at noontime, a group of students from neighboring school districts marched to Montebello High School (MHS). At that time, MHS was on lockdown and the students remained in their classrooms. The other students, from outside Montebello Unified School District, who were estimated to be 800-1000 strong, gathered outside the MHS campus. For a brief time, the school flag was lowered, replaced with a Mexican flag, and the American flag flown beneath, upside down. The California flag was subsequently stolen."

In the wake of the incident, school officials emphasized that the students responsible were from the El Rancho and Whittier Union High school districts rather than the Montebello Unified School District. [ [http://www.montebello.k12.ca.us/ Montebello Unified School District Homepage ] ] One student was punished because of the incident. [ [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49529 Teen punished for U.S. flag flip ] ]

Media Reaction

The incident was reported in several local newspapers, sparking a firestorm of controversy on many websites [ [http://www.michellemalkin.com/archives/004869.htm Michelle Malkin » THE AMERICAN FLAG COMES SECOND ] ] and was widely forwarded around the country by email. As of September 29, 2008, this item was still being forwarded in emails. The message included the following text, "I predict this stunt will be the nail in the coffin ofany guest-worker/amnesty plan on the table in Washington . The image of the American flag subsumed to another and turned upside down on American soil is already spreading on Internet forums and via e-mail." [ [http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/mexicoflag.asp Urban Legends Reference Pages: Welcome to Calexico ] ]

ee also

*2007 United States immigration reform protests
*United States immigration debate
*Montebello High School

References