Educators across the country are grappling with the impact raids by immigration and customs services on the homes of their students. Teachers face worried and crying children after their family members are taken away.
Such trauma has long-term effects on the mental healththe well-being and future opportunities of children of immigrant families. Yet in recent months, urban, suburban, and rural communities have seen an increase in ICE presence, arrests, and deportations, affecting thousands of school-age children. It is crucial that we do more to protect these children.
As a former public school teacher in Chicago and New York and now, for over a decade, a professor and researcher on immigrant youth and educational policy and practice, I am saddened by the countless stories I hear about children and families destroyed by this administration’s immigration actions.
My work as a researcher has shown how these immigration practices disrupt the tireless efforts of educators and how they waste taxpayer dollars that fund public schools. ICE operations cause icy effects For immigrant And American citizen children, leading to a decline in schooling.
“We need to think about the moral path here and what’s good for kids,” a mid-Atlantic educator said recently, echoing what I hear at my current school. research. One teacher told me: “This government is hitting families from every angle; it passes state and local laws to limit access to public resources, food, education, and mental health services. »
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In Maineimmigration agents arrested dozens of people from communities across the state, forcing immigrant students to stay home. In Connecticut, ICE made arrests downtown New Haven. In West VirginiaICE announced that it had made more than 650 arrests in two weeks in early January. The Trump administration is also expelling both higher proportion and higher numbers number of people detained compared to previous years. A report from the Deportation Data Project found that ICE arrests have quadrupled overall, which resulted in a similar situation increase in evictions.
On a more positive note, we are seeing rapid responses, including Illinois Safe Schools Actof several states, as well as resolutions ensuring safe and welcoming schools from school districts (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 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).
This policy windows providing critical opportunities to support children and families at the city and state levels.
I have studied the impact of immigration enforcement on K-12 public school educators across the country. Teachers, leaders, and school mental health providers told me how the psychological trauma caused by the crackdowns, particularly nighttime raids and the presence of ICE near schools, has created a state of hypervigilance and acute stress in young children.
“Children come to school crying in the morning because of these nighttime raids,” a teacher told me. Educators also note the economic collapse of families whose fathers have been deported. Overall, I have heard how deportations disrupt the family lives of immigrants, creating instability and forced displacement, and also disrupting the educational experiences of children who are citizens.
Another impact concerns confidence and participation in school activities. Rightfully so, immigrant parents are afraid to share information with schools and other government institutions, leading to isolation.
In many communities, families “disappear” overnight, self-deport to avoid ICE, or remain hidden in their community. One educator shared that students tell them they are leaving or not coming to school and express uncertainty about returning. These realities require schools to prepare for unusual situations. disturbances in education, including a drop in enrollment and an increase absenteeism.
Related: Parental stress, police raids and isolation: how immigration controls traumatize even the youngest children
In the face of this “uncanny terror,” as one teacher called it, educators said they were doing everything they could to support students, even if they were traumatized: One teacher described how she recently “broke down” after trying to deal with the emotional burden of observing her students’ experiences and the stress they are under right now.
Along with educational activities, many educators say they now see their role as helping immigrant children beyond academics. One explained: “I witnessed a student’s father in immigration matters. It’s not just about teaching, but being in court with them.”
These educators are mobilizing strategically – visibly through lawsuits and subversively in more localized ways, through community marches and security measures to ensure that children or parents are not kidnapped by ICE on their way to and from school, and by sending food and clothing home. Educators also reported providing letters of support and testimony during the families’ immigration hearings.
We must ensure that educators can do their jobs, that children’s academic success – not fear – is the cornerstone of schooling, and that taxpayer dollars intended to fund public schools are used effectively. Currently, schools are facing disruptions to their work due to this administration’s hostile immigration policies and enforcement.
Schools should provide mental health services to educators who are dealing with the emotional weight of their students’ lives. Schools should also provide professional development for educators learning to navigate complex immigration and legal systems so they can continue to support their immigrant students and families and provide spaces to discuss the traumatic incidents children and their families experience. Finally, schools should connect with local partners and community organizations providing families with resources such as legal aid, safe passage programs, and culturally appropriate supports.
Sophia Rodriguez is an associate professor at New York University, where she directs the ImmigrantEdNext Research laboratory. She is the author of “Undocumented immigrants in the American South: how young people manage racialization in political and educational contexts.”
Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.
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