Educators nationwide are grappling with the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on the homes of their students. Teachers face crying, worried children after their family members have been taken away.
Traumas like these have long-term effects on the mental health, well-being and future opportunities of children in immigrant families. Yet, over the past few months, urban, suburban and rural communities have experienced a surge in ICE presence, arrests and deportations — affecting thousands of school-age children. It is crucial that we do more to protect these kids.
As a former public schoolteacher in Chicago and New York City and now, for over a decade, a professor and researcher of immigrant youth and educational policy and practice, I am saddened by the countless stories I’m hearing of kids and families being gutted by this administration’s immigration enforcement.
My work as a researcher has shown how disruptive these immigration practices are to the tireless efforts of educators and how they waste the taxpayer dollars that fund public schools. ICE operations cause chilling effects for immigrant and U.S.-citizen children that lead to decreases in school enrollment.
“We have to think about the moral path here, and what’s right for kids,” an educator in the mid-Atlantic said recently, echoing what I’m hearing in my current research. One teacher shared with me, “This government is hitting families from all angles; they are passing state and local laws to limit access to public resources, food, education and mental health services.”
Related: A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education.
In Maine, immigration agents arrested dozens of people from communities across the state, forcing immigrant students to stay home. In Connecticut, ICE made arrests in downtown New Haven. In West Virginia, ICE announced that it had made over 650 arrests over the course of two weeks in early January. The Trump administration is also deporting both a higher proportion and greater numbers of detained individuals compared to past years. A report from the Deportation Data Project found that ICE arrests overall have increased fourfold, which has resulted in a similar increase in deportations.
On a more positive note, we are seeing rapid responses, including the Illinois Safe Schools Act, from multiple states, as well as resolutions to ensure safe and welcoming schools from school boards (e.g., Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver). Other cities have been active in fighting the Trump administration’s inhumane actions against immigrant communities, including by filing lawsuits to protect sanctuary policies. Additionally, Maryland just passed emergency legislation to end ICE agreements with local law enforcement through programs known as 287(g).
These policy windows provide critical opportunities to support kids and families at city and state levels.
I have investigated the impact of immigration enforcement on K-12 public school educators across the country. Teachers, leaders and school-based mental health providers have told me how the psychological trauma of enforcement actions, particularly nighttime raids and the presence of ICE near schools, has created a state of hypervigilance and acute stress for young children.
“Kids are coming to school crying in the morning due to these nighttime raids,” one teacher told me. Educators are also noting the economic breakdown in families in which fathers have been deported. Overall, I’ve heard how deportations disrupt the family life of immigrants, creating instability and forced relocation, and also disrupt the educational experiences of children who are citizens.
Another impact relates to trust and participation in school activities. Rightly, immigrant parents are fearful of sharing information with schools and other governmental institutions, leading to isolation.
In many communities, families are “vanishing” overnight, self-deporting to avoid ICE or staying hidden in their communities. An educator shared that students tell them they are leaving or not coming to school and report the uncertainty of returning. These realities force schools to prepare for uncharacteristic disruptions to instruction, including decreased enrollment and increased absenteeism.
Related: Parental stress, raids, and isolation: How immigration enforcement traumatizes even the youngest children
In the face of this “disturbing terror,” as one teacher called it, educators reported that they are doing all they can to support students, even as they are becoming traumatized: One teacher described how she recently “broke down” from trying to manage the emotional toll of observing her students’ experiences and the stress they live under right now.
Along with instructional activities, many educators say they now see their role as helping immigrant children beyond academics. One explained: “I was a witness for a student’s dad for immigration. It’s not just teaching; it’s being there in the court with them.”
These educators are mobilizing in strategic ways — visibly through lawsuits and subversively in more localized ways, through community walks and safety measures to ensure kids or parents are not kidnapped by ICE going to and from school, and sending food and clothing home. Educators have also reported providing letters of support and testimony in families’ immigration hearings.
We need to ensure that educators can do their jobs, that children’s educational achievement — not fear — is the cornerstone of school, and that taxpayer dollars for public school funding are used effectively. Right now, schools face disruptions to their work due to this administration’s hostile immigration policies and enforcement.
Schools should provide mental health services for educators who are dealing with the emotional toll of their students’ lives. Schools should also provide professional development for educators learning to navigate the complex immigration and legal systems so they can continue to support their immigrant students and families and provide spaces to discuss the traumatic incidents that kids and families are enduring. Finally, schools should connect with local partners and community organizations to provide families with resources such as legal aid, safe passage programs and culturally relevant supports.
Sophia Rodriguez is an associate professor at New York University, where she directs the ImmigrantEdNext Research Lab. She is the author of “Undocumented in the U.S. South: How Youth Navigate Racialization in Policy and School Contexts.”
Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.
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