Photos: Hundreds in Maplewood Richmond Heights community rally against deportation of school janitors
Hundreds of students, teachers and staff in the聽Maplewood Richmond Heights School District community rallied against the deportation of school janitor聽Boanerges Flores, of Nicaragua, who was detained by ICE last week.
Joined by her students,聽Maplewood Richmond Heights School District second grade teacher Kailyn Kloster, stands with janitor Alba Matamoro and her daughter Mauren, 8, during a rally in support after her ICE appointment on Monday, June 1, 2026, outside the Robert A. Young Federal Building in 最新杏吧原创. Kloster was Mauren鈥檚 teacher last year.
Hundreds of Maplewood Richmond Heights School District students, teachers and staff rally in support of janitor Alba Matamoro, foreground, after her immigration appointment Monday, June 1, 2026, at the Robert A. Young Federal Building in 最新杏吧原创.聽
Melissa Fuoss, director of alternative services with the聽Maplewood Richmond Heights School District, left, comforts janitor Alba Matamoro, right, who is overcome with emotion after seeing the hundreds of community members rally in support after her ICE appointment on Monday, June 1, 2026, outside the Robert A. Young Federal Building in 最新杏吧原创.聽
鈥淚 am feeling overwhelmed right now. I did not expect to see this much support,鈥 said Maplewood Richmond Heights School District janitor Alba Matamoro, who hugs her daughter Mauren, 8, on Monday, June 1, 2026, during a rally supporting Matamoro outside the Robert A. Young Federal Building in 最新杏吧原创.聽
Maplewood Richmond Heights School District聽parent and social worker Naomi Warren, right, hugs janitor Alba Matamoro, left, after her ICE appointment on Monday, June 1, 2026, during a rally supporting Matamoro outside the Robert A. Young Federal Building in 最新杏吧原创.聽
Maplewood Richmond Heights parent and district social worker Naomi Warren, right, hugs MRH janitor Alba Matamoro, left, after her ICE appointment on Monday, June 1, 2026, during a rally supporting Matamoro outside the Robert A. Young Federal Building in 最新杏吧原创.聽
Maplewood Richmond Heights School District parent Samantha Lewis, left, and her two sons Parker, 8, and Landon, 10, attend a rally in support of janitor Alba Matamoro, on Monday, June 1, 2026, outside the Matamoro outside the Robert A. Young Federal Building in 最新杏吧原创.
鈥淚 am feeling overwhelmed right now. I did not expect to see this much support,鈥 said聽Maplewood Richmond Heights School District janitor Alba Matamoro, who hugs her daughter Mauren, 8, on Monday, June 1, 2026, during a rally supporting Matamoro outside the Robert A. Young Federal Building in 最新杏吧原创. Matamoro鈥檚 husband Boanerges Flores, of Nicaragua, also a janitor for the district, was previously detained during a routine immigration appointment.
Maplewood Richmond Heights School District teacher Heather Jaber attends a rally in support of janitor Alba Matamoro on Monday, June 1, 2026, outside the Robert A. Young Federal Building in 最新杏吧原创.
Laurie Skrivan | Post-Dispatch
Photographer
Dozens of parents brought their children to the rally to show support for their schoolmate Mauren, who is going into third grade.
Boanerges Flores, 53, and his wife were awaiting a decision from an immigration judge on their request for asylum after fleeing Nicaragua in 2022.
