High school principals in California and across the country say Immigration, Customs and Enforcement raids have led to a “climate of distress” among immigrant students who have been bullied on campus and whose attendance has declined, according to a study released Tuesday.
Seventy percent of public high school principals surveyed said students from immigrant families expressed fears for themselves or their families due to ICE crackdowns or political rhetoric related to immigrants, according to the report by researchers at UCLA and UC Riverside.
The findings echo the narrative of what schools and districts have reported across Southern California since President Trump took office in January and began aggressive immigration raids.
A California principal told investigators she had seen staff members “break down crying over a student.”
“It just doesn't seem very American,” he added.
John Rogers, a UCLA education professor and co-author of the report, said it was “surprising” that principals “from every region of the country spoke of fear and concern in their school communities regarding immigration enforcement.”
Researchers surveyed 606 public high school principals from May to August to understand how schools have been affected by Trump's immigration enforcement. More than 1 in 3 principals, about 36%, said students from immigrant families have been bullied and 64% said their attendance has decreased.
Other researchers collecting data from California's Central Valley and northeastern states have verified a drop in attendance. There has also been a decline in K-12 enrollment that appears to number at least tens of thousands, affecting cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego and Miami, according to figures provided by school district officials.
Principals, including in Minnesota, Nebraska and Michigan, noted an increase in students' use of hostile and derogatory language toward their peers from immigrant families. Some said a political climate that has normalized attacks on immigrants was to blame.
The vast majority of principals surveyed, nearly 78%, said their campuses created plans to respond to visits by federal agents and nearly half have a contingency plan for when a student's parents are deported.
In this effort, Los Angeles County schools have been leaders, taking swift and unprecedented action to protect and reassure families. Los Angeles Unified, for example, has provided direct transportation from home to school for some students.
Their fears are not unfounded. In April, Los Angeles principals turned away immigration agents who attempted to enter two elementary schools, claiming they were conducting a welfare check with the family's permission. School district officials said no such permission had been granted.
At a public meeting in November, Los Angeles school board member Karla Griego reported that a parent was detained while addressing a school meeting about an updated educational plan to handle her child's disabilities.
Charter schools have also taken steps to reassure families. In the days following a major ICE raid in Los Angeles, attendance rates in Morgan McKinzie Alliance High School in East Los Angeles fell from the typical range of 90% to 90%, said director Rosa Menéndez.
“Many of our families have been really shocked and terrified,” Menendez said. “Many of our children are afraid to come to school.”
As ICE raids intensified last summer, the charter school increased supervision, placing staff members around bus and train stations to watch students arriving and leaving. The school will remain open over winter break and offer sports, video games, and arts and crafts so students have a safe place to go.
Immigration law enforcement is personal for Menéndez, who is the son of Salvadoran immigrants and has undocumented family members.
“After COVID, we were trying to keep our kids safe and healthy, and now it's another layer of safety,” Menendez said. “But we also worry about our own families… That adds a very intense layer of stress.”
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying that ICE does not “raise or attack schools.” However, in January the Trump administration rescinded long-standing protections for “sensitive” locations that since 2011 had prevented ICE from arresting people in schools and churches.
A double duty to protect and teach
In addition to the survey, researchers conducted 49 follow-up Zoom interviews with principals chosen to reflect a diverse mix of schools. The names were withheld for fear that their schools could become targets of immigration authorities.
A California principal whose school is located in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood told researchers that her school's sense of security evaporated in the spring when news of nearby ICE raids emerged during an assembly.
This account echoed the unease that spread during a spring graduation ceremony at Huntington Park High School when an ICE raid began at the adjacent Home Depot.
Principals noted that parents have felt torn between keeping themselves and their families safe and supporting their children's education. At Los Angeles high schools, many parents opted not to attend graduation last spring.
Immigration enforcement isn't just affecting students. Many school staff feel a “double sense of duty” to protect and teach, the California principal said.
This administrator also said teachers have joined local immigrant rights networks, walking neighborhood blocks before school every day to ensure there is a safe path to campus. One teacher, whose father is undocumented, frequently worries about suspicious cars in the school parking lot, the principal said.
“[W]We always want to make sure we're not caught off guard,” he said. In addition to long-standing fears of a possible active shooter situation, he now worries daily about ICE agents showing up. “It's a lot,” he added.
Maria Nichols, president of the Los Angeles Associate Administrators and former LAUSD principal, praised the district for taking quick action to provide school leaders with protocols to follow in the event of a raid. But he said the job of principal has become even more grueling because LAUSD staff cuts reduced the number of assistant principals.
“The leader, of course, is responsible for logistics, protocols and procedural issues, but … he also has to improve his school and his community,” Nichols said. “They're dealing with a crisis right now and it's a very, very difficult and heavy cost at a time when we have less human capital in schools.”
School leaders across the country echoed the California principal's sentiments.
An Idaho principal told investigators that she worries every day that ICE agents will show up with a warrant to detain students. “As the leader of the building,” he said, “I feel responsible for their safety. I hate it, because I don't feel like I can protect them.”
