Immigration Raid Fears Trigger Latino Student Absences, As Experts Warn Of Consequences

As nan new schoolhouse year approaches, nan emblematic worries of getting supplies and organizing schedules are compounded for families of mixed migration status: wondering whether aliases not to nonstop their children to people owed to fears of an migration ambush astatine nan school.

“I’ve heard truthful galore group inquire what to do, whether to return them aliases not, because of each these fears,” Oreana, a mother of 4 children enrolled successful schools successful Phoenix, Arizona, told Noticias Telemundo.

The truth that places for illustration churches and schools are nary longer considered “sensitive” spaces from immigration enforcement actions “causes a batch of fear,” nan Venezuelan female said.

Up until precocious January, erstwhile President Donald Trump took office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's operations had been restricted successful churches, schools and hospitals.

The Trump management has defended its determination to let migration raids successful formerly delicate locations, such arsenic schools. "ICE does not typically behaviour migration enforcement activities astatine schools aliases schoolhouse buses," nan agency told NBC News successful March, adding that an migration action adjacent a schoolhouse would beryllium from a "case-by-case determination."

But fearfulness of imaginable migration raids successful schools isn’t conscionable coming from parents. This past weekend, the Los Angeles Teachers Union held a protestation to request that nan territory do much to protect students from migrant families.

Last semester, uneasiness pursuing migration raids resulted successful much students missing school, according to Thomas S. Dee, a master successful nan School of Education astatine Stanford University.

Hundreds of educators from UTLA march to "demand clear, proactive protocols that protect students and families from ICE and different national agencies arsenic nan caller schoolhouse twelvemonth originates connected Aug. 2 successful Los Angeles.Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Dee published an study successful June whose results bespeak that “recent raids coincided pinch a 22 percent summation successful regular student absences" successful California’s Central Valley, an cultivation area that's location to galore migrant farmworkers.

The schoolhouse absences were particularly notable among preschool and simple students, he noted, an property erstwhile parents are much apt to return them to school.

"We saw, erstwhile nan raids began, a crisp summation successful student absences that was very unique from nan emblematic patterns we’d spot crossed nan schoolhouse year," Dee said successful an question and reply pinch Noticias Telemundo, "and successful peculiar comparative to those baselines that we’d seen successful anterior years."

What nan numbers show

Beyond California, states for illustration Washington authorities and Illinois person seen akin situations successful immoderate schoolhouse districts.

In nan suburbs of Seattle, the effect is notorious successful nan Highline district, which operates astir 30 schools. There, information shows that chronic absenteeism — missing much than 10% of a people play — roseate to 48% for nan schoolhouse twelvemonth that ended successful July, reversing gains nan territory had made complete nan erstwhile 2 years successful reducing K-12 absentee rates.

In Chicago, precocious schoolhouse educators besides reported 20% little attendance compared to nan erstwhile year.

But Hispanic K-12 students were already apt to accumulate much absences earlier Trump's 2nd term. Some factors see going to activity astatine an earlier property to support nan family, health-related reasons aliases having to attraction for a family personnel during schoolhouse hours.

In Illinois, Hispanic students had nan second-highest chronic absenteeism rate passim 2024, astatine 33%, compared to 26% crossed each demographic groups, according to information from nan State Board of Education. Noticias Telemundo contacted nan committee and Illinois districts to get updated information done June 2025, but didn't person a response.

The existent business adds to disruptions to schooling that person been taking spot since nan Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted successful wide academic delays.

"We’re successful an situation wherever we’ve seen historical losses successful student achievement, sustained increases successful chronic absenteeism, arsenic good arsenic a notable summation successful nan intelligence wellness challenges that younker are facing," Dee said. "And truthful I spot these migration raids arsenic only adding to nan already sizeable challenges of world betterment that schools are presently facing."

Fewer resources, much anxiety

Being absent respective times during a schoolhouse twelvemonth has a sizeable effect connected a student’s education.

"Such extended absences lead not only to mediocre world performance; they often lead to students dropping retired of school. And nan effect of dropping retired of precocious schoolhouse is profound," nan National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) stated via email.

The relation highlighted that net for those who don’t postgraduate from precocious schoolhouse are considerably little than for those who do.

The impact, experts person said, goes beyond nan classroom.

"Attending schoolhouse regularly is 1 of nan astir powerful predictors of agelong word health, well-being and success," Josh Sharfstein of nan Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and head of nan Bloomberg American Health Initiative, said astatine a convention successful mid-June.

This is because absences tin impact children’s affectional and intelligence development, arsenic good arsenic their education. For example, they tin trigger anxiety disorders that further harm children’s well-being and further promote schoolhouse absences.

Several associations person launched a run calling for schoolhouse absences to beryllium considered a nationalist wellness problem.

"When aggregate students successful a schoolroom are chronically absent, nan churn successful nan schoolroom affects everyone, moreover peers who had bully attendance. It makes it harder for teachers to thatch and group schoolroom norms, arsenic good arsenic for students to link pinch each other," said Hedy Chang, executive head of nan Attendance Works group, which is starring a run launched successful June.

Chronic absenteeism owed to fears of migration raids tin person a knock-on economical effect, according to Dee.

"This besides has financial implications for schoolhouse districts," he said. California is 1 of a fistful of states that bases aid, successful part, connected mean regular attendance, according to Dee, truthful erstwhile less kids show, that intends less resources.

"I would expect that to person pejorative economical consequences for these communities arsenic good arsenic for nan financial viability of nan schoolhouse districts serving them," Dee said.

In galore districts, repeated offenses related to absenteeism tin besides lead to younker being sent to truancy court. There, penalties tin scope from paying fines to serving clip successful juvenile detention.

Latino, Black and Indigenous younker successful nan U.S. are already more often referred to truancy tribunal than non-Hispanic achromatic students, successful portion because nan erstwhile demographic groups’ absences are much likely to beryllium recorded arsenic “unjustified aliases unexcused,” investigation shows.

Preventive strategies

In consequence to long-standing concerns astir truancy, location are strategies to combat absenteeism.

“There are galore steps districts, schools, families and organization partners tin return to amended attendance,” said Chang, of Attendance Works.

At a Connecticut schoolhouse wherever attendance fell early successful nan twelvemonth owed to fears of migration raids, truancy was successfully curbed toward nan extremity of nan semester pinch measures specified arsenic straight contacting families and processing contingency plans.

These strategies see reaching retired to organization leaders, specified arsenic local religion figures aliases food bank workers, who person interaction pinch definite families to thief promote them to proceed sending their children to school.

Another strategy that schoolhouse principals belonging to NASSP opportunity has helped is maintaining adjacent interaction pinch students — for example, calling their families’ homes to cheque connected them.

Experts dream that these kinds of measures tin thief reside nan rumor of absences successful students of mixed migration position who are acrophobic of imaginable migration raids.

“In immoderate districts, we’ve heard from students who can’t be classes regularly correct now for reasons for illustration fearfulness of raids, and they’ve been offered virtual learning,” Dee said. “I deliberation educators request to beryllium much alert of nan challenges their students are presently facing owed to these issues."

For now, pinch protests for illustration nan 1 nan teachers’ national held successful Los Angeles, further options are being explored, specified arsenic a districtwide run to amended parents astir nan value of sharing an emergency interaction pinch schoolhouse administrators successful lawsuit a genitor is deported while nan kid is astatine school.

In nan Highline schoolhouse territory successful Washington state, communications head Tove Tupper said successful an email they're "committed to protecting nan authorities and dignity of each students, families, and staff" and guarantee each students "have a correct to a nationalist education, arsenic protected by law," sloppy of citizenship aliases migration status.

An earlier type of this communicative was first published successful Noticias Telemundo.