Absent for ICE: Trump immigration enforcement hits school attendance

President Trump's immigration crackdown is exacerbating the already precarious problem of absenteeism in America's schools.
Experts say schools will have to come up with action plans for their student bodies ahead of the fall semester after a recent study showed that an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids leads to undocumented students missing more class.
'What we've really seen and been told is that communication is really key, and so a district can be really explicit with families to understand the fear that they have and then explain all of the protections and protocols that the district have in place to prevent students from being detained at school or for their data to be protected,' said Tara Thomas, government affairs manager for the Schools Superintendents Association.
New research recently released from Stanford University found a 22 percent jump in absences from five California school districts during January and February, compared to the same months in the previous years.
The difference, analysts say, was ICE raids carried out under former President Biden and Trump during the first two months of the year.
The study found absences increased in the majority Latino student populations by 30 percent for those in pre-K, 27 percent for students in kindergarten through 5th grade, 17 percent for middle schoolers and 8 percent for high school students.
And that was before the sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles this month that led to widespread protests, which themselves led to Trump calling in the military.
The issue for educators isn't so much fear of ICE agents at schools as it is the disruptions that the raids can cause among immigrant communities.
'It is something that many of the schools that we're partnering with across Texas, New Jersey, New York, something that they have already started seeing and they are having conversations around expecting a decline of enrollment, even in summer school […] all because of all that is happening with immigration and parents being afraid to bring their kids to school,' said Viridiana Carrizales, co-founder and CEO of ImmSchools, a group that focuses on the intersection between immigration and education.
Experts' biggest recommendation is open communication with parents about how schools can protect student information and what would happen if ICE shows up.
While Trump's administration has lifted legal guidance prohibiting ICE in K-12 schools, there have been no confirmed incidents of federal authorities doing so. And if they did, the officers would need a judicial warrant for the school to let me through.
A more pressing concern for undocumented parents could be getting their kids to and from school, as many are wary to go out when it is known ICE officials are around in a community.
'The other thing that we're also pushing school districts to consider is their transportation,' said Carrizales.
Parents are 'trying to minimize that exposure, and that is making some families keep their kids at home so that they're not they're not detained while they're driving […] There might have to be some policies or transportation currently as it is, might need to shift,' she added.
All of this comes as chronic absenteeism has been a struggle for schools in general since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Future Ed, chronic absenteeism rates were at 28 percent in the 2021-2022 school year, 25 percent the following year and 23 percent in the 2023-2024 academic year.
The consequences are severe, including substantial drops in academic performance and graduation rates.
'The number one thing that the school can do, whether it be a teacher, cafeteria worker, principal, whatever your role is, the importance is to establish trust. And families need to know that the school will protect their children if they are not there to protect their children,' said Carl Felton, policy analyst on the P-12 team at EdTrust.
But that is not always easy, especially in parts of the country where local or state politicians support deportation policies that could put schools in a precarious position.
'One of the most frustrating things is that even in the context and everything that you're seeing happening right now, school districts are still very hesitant in taking any sort of action to support these families, and honestly, for us, it has been a little bit frustrating to see that inaction and to see how many districts are losing families because they are not intentionally speaking out or even telling families that their kids are safe at their school,' said Carrizales.

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