Schools around US confront anxiety over Trump's actions on immigration
The implications of immigration policy for U.S. schools are enormous. Fwd.us, a group advocating for criminal justice and immigration reform, estimated in 2021 that 600,000 K-12 students in the U.S. lacked legal status. Nearly 4 million students — many of them born in the U.S. — have a parent living in the country illegally.
Immigration raids have been shown to impact academic performance for students — even those who are native-born. In North Carolina and California, researchers have found lower attendance and a drop in enrollment among Hispanic students when local police participate in a program that deputizes them to enforce immigration law. Another study found test scores of Hispanic students dropped in schools near the sites of workplace raids.
In Fresno, attendance has dropped since Trump took office by anywhere from 700 to 1,000 students a day. Officials in the central California district have received countless panicked calls from parents about rumored immigration raids – including about raids at schools, said Carlos Castillo, chief of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Fresno Unified School District. The feared school raids have all been hoaxes.
"It goes beyond just the students who … have citizenship status or legal status," Castillo said. Students are afraid for their parents, relatives and friends, and they're terrified that immigration agents might raid their schools or homes, he said.
A school principal recently called Castillo in tears after a family reached out to say they were too afraid to go buy groceries. The principal went shopping for the family and delivered $100 in groceries to their home — and then sat with the family and cried, Castillo said.
The district has been working with families to inform them of their rights and advise them on things like liquidating assets or planning for the custody of children if the parents leave the U.S. The district has partnered with local organizations that can give legal advice to families and has held almost a dozen meetings, including some on Zoom.
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