The Impact of a Broken Immigration System on U.S. Students and Schools

Immigration Policy & Enforcement’s Impact on Students

Academic Performance

Over 60% of teachers surveyed reported an impact on immigrant students’ academic performance. Instead of thinking about academics and post-high school plans, students are distracted by fears about their families’ safety and situation in this country.

• 85% of educators and school staff reported students expressing concerns and fears around immigration enforcement.
• 44% of staff perceived their students’ concerns and fears as: “a lot” or “extensive”.

Attendance

Educators shared how their students are frightened and sometimes remain absent from school for days when there are immigration raids in the area or fear that their parents will be deported or detained while they are at school.

Grade Retention & Dropout Rates

Immigration enforcement raised the probability of repeating a grade for children of “likely unauthorized immigrants” aged 6-13 by 14% and the likelihood of dropping out for young people aged 14-17 by 18% (Amuedo-Dorantes and Lopez, 2017).

Increased arrests and immigration enforcement are related to a decline in English Language Arts (ELA) scores for secondary Latinx English Learners (ELs) roughly equivalent to one month of learning loss (Sattin-Bajaj & Kirksey, 2022) and a decline in math test scores for all Latinx secondary students.

Bullying & School Safety

Almost half of the educators surveyed reported an increase in bullying of immigrant students, creating a heightened sense of insecurity and anxiety in students.

One educator shared how their students feel as if they are targets because of “their names, their skin colors, their accents, their status. They worry they cannot trust anyone.”

Peers

If a student arrived at school crying, or disappeared for days due to an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) action, other students in the same classroom would show concern for their peers, which affects school climate.

Immigrant students were less likely to participate in after-school activities like sports, music, or clubs because their family feared that if they stayed after school for extracurricular activities they might be seen as “different” or “other” because of their home language or immigration status.

Immigration Policy & Enforcement’s Impact on Schools

Parental Engagement

Parental engagement among immigrant parents and low-income populations tends to be low, given how much these parents need to work to make ends meet. Parental engagement was even lower for families feeling the threat of deportation. 51% of educators reported that parents had expressed concerns and sought advice about their families’ vulnerability.

Immigration Policy & Enforcement’s Impact on Educators

Teachers shared their feelings of responsibility to create a sense of safety for all of their students and experienced secondhand trauma.

“They are not thinking about college, or the test next week or what is being taught in the classroom today. They are thinking about their family and whether they will still be a -family; whether their family will remain intact.”

-Tennessee high school administrator

“[The day after the 2016 election of President Donald Trump, a student of mine was] huddled underneath playground equipment, crying. I ask, “What’s the matter?” They say they think that people hate them [the students] so they’ll have to go away. Another educator shared how their students are not only afraid of ICE but feel as if they are targets because of “their names, their skin colors, their accents, their status. They worry they cannot trust anyone.”

-Elementary school teacher

“I had one student who came back the day after prom and would not eat or talk to anyone. I finally found out from one of her friends that she came home from prom to find her mom deported and never had the chance to say goodbye or anything. She was suffering but did not know what to do.”

-California high school teacher

“This past year, my job has felt simultaneously more important and more pointless than it ever has before. Pointless because I felt helpless. I felt like math and science pale in comparison to safety, security, and family stability. But how do I affect that? How do I truly help my students? More important because I know that we are a safe place for our students and now, more than ever, that’s what our children need.”

-Elementary school administrator

“[I know my students are] going through a little bit more with immigration; they have to worry about coming home and having that fear of walking home and “Oh, is my mom going to be here? Is my dad going to be here? Is my sister or my auntie going to be there?”

-Elementary school teacher

School systems can implement several measures to support immigrant students and their families:

• Urge Congress to pass comprehensive Immigration Reform
• Invest in community schools that offer wraparound services for children in poverty at the school site (see, for example, UCLA Community School’s Parent and Community Center and Immigrant Family Legal Clinic).
• Engage community members who can establish trusting relationships with undocumented parents
• Establish partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs) that specialize in providing support services to immigrant families
• Uplift support and care for teachers including:
  1. Support hiring of more counselors and school support staff
  2. Implement strategies to improve diversity in the teaching profession
  3. Offer professional development opportunities
• Offer State Department of Education “Know Your Rights” Guidance