It has been a month since she last saw her husband, the father of her three children, who left their Washington apartment to buy milk and diapers. Initially, he called to inform her he had been pulled over by local police but assured her not to worry. However, the next communication she received was from a detention center in Virginia, where he was being held. This 40-year-old mother, an immigrant from Guatemala who has lived in the United States illegally for over a decade, now lives in fear, unable to take her two sons to their nearby charter school. She requested anonymity to avoid potential targeting by immigration authorities.
All three of their children were born in Washington, D.C., and the older two currently attend a local charter school. Although she initially planned to keep them home, a volunteer stepped in to offer transportation. Yet, the emotional toll on her children has been severe; one of the boys was so distressed by his father’s absence that he missed three days of school in one week.
Schools in Washington reopened recently amid a significant surge in law enforcement activity, which has seen masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrolling neighborhoods, a scenario likely to be mirrored in other major cities as President Donald Trump deploys federal agents.
The police presence has instilled fear in many Washington communities, affecting the children significantly. Some students have had parents arrested during these crackdowns, while others worry they or their family members might be next. Parents are struggling to explain these developments to their children.
“In my community, the impact has been immense fear and terror that is threatening student safety getting to and from school every day,” shared Ben Williams, a high school social studies teacher and member of the District of Columbia State Board of Education. “Everyone feels on edge daily, concerned that someone connected to the community might be taken.”
Arrests Instill Fear
In the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of northwest Washington, where a mix of million-dollar rowhouses and affordable apartments house immigrant families, federal agents have become a common sight, with neighbors documenting multiple arrests.
Raul Cortez, an immigrant from El Salvador, mentioned that his 7-year-old son has developed a deep fear of police. “Children are observant and perceptive. They understand what is happening,” he stated.
After spotting a police car idling nearby, his son’s eyes widened in fear. In response to the anxiety some parents feel about leaving their homes, volunteers have organized “walking buses” to safely escort groups of children to school. Outside Bancroft Elementary, which caters to students in both English and Spanish, volunteers wearing bright orange vests stand ready to alert others if they notice signs of immigration authorities.
Immigration Enforcement Can Lead to Dips in School Attendance
Research has shown that immigration raids near schools correlate with declines in academic performance among Latino students, who are often closely connected to immigrant families. Trump’s immigration crackdown has also adversely affected school attendance nationwide. In the months following his inauguration, many school districts reported decreased attendance as immigrant families chose to keep their children home. In California’s Central Valley, immigration raids in early 2017 coincided with a 22% increase in student absences compared to the two previous school years, according to a study by Stanford University economist Thomas Dee and Big Local News.
In Washington, Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn indicated at a recent press conference that attendance levels have remained stable compared to last year. However, District of Columbia Public Schools, which serves about half the district’s students, could not provide data on attendance during the federal intervention.
Nevertheless, Williams, representing schools with large immigrant populations, noted that attendance at several schools has indeed suffered. Nationwide, educators have been on high alert since President Trump, a Republican, directed the Department of Homeland Security in January to revoke a memo that previously restricted officers from entering schools and churches without prior supervisor approval, replacing it with guidance urging officers to exercise “discretion and a healthy dose of common sense” before entering school premises.
Recently, the nation’s largest teachers’ unions filed a lawsuit in response to the immigration crackdown, asserting that the fear generated by arrests near schools has prompted some children to drop out.
In response, Homeland Security officials insisted that ICE agents have not made arrests in schools. “ICE is not conducting enforcement operations at, or ‘raiding,’ schools. We are not going to schools to arrest children,” stated Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Emma Leheny, an education attorney who previously worked for the Education Department under President Joe Biden, emphasized that the chilling effect can persist even without ICE agents entering schools. “As ICE surrounds our local schools, or gives the impression that they might, the immediate impact reverberates beyond the school building into the neighborhood and community,” she said.
Many Children of Those Targeted Are U.S. Citizens
As of 2023, approximately 4.6 million U.S.-born children are living with a parent who lacks authorization to remain in the country, according to the Pew Research Center. Additionally, around 1.5 million children themselves are without legal permission. For those separated from their parents, the emotional toll can be particularly severe.
The Guatemalan mother of three shared that her sons now sleep in her bed, often waking in the night crying. Having recently received news of her husband’s arrival back in Guatemala, she is contemplating a return to her home country. With no childcare and the constant fear of deportation, she feels unable to work.
“My dream was to provide them with the best education, one I never had,” she reflected. Her eldest son aspired to become a doctor, while her middle child dreamed of being a police officer. “That American dream,” she lamented, “is gone.”
