70% of U.S. Public Schools Report Impacts from Trump Immigration Policy

More than two-thirds of U.S. public secondary schools have reported impacts stemming from the fear of immigrant-family students regarding raids, according to a survey of principals that warns of a decline in attendance and an uptick in bullying.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, Riverside, surveyed 606 public secondary school principals between May and August of this year to analyze how schools have been affected by President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

A total of 70.4% of respondents reported that students with immigrant parents have expressed concern for their own or their families' well-being due to immigration policy and rhetoric.

Principals frequently spoke "about the fear and anxiety" experienced by many students and their families.

Nicole Johnson, a principal at a school in Tennessee, noted that a significant number of students are not eating properly because their parents have been forced to stay home to avoid encountering immigration agents and have been unable to go to the grocery store.

Cinthya Rodríguez, a principal at a school in California, considered that the fear among immigrant families is "greater" than what was experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. "This is a completely different level of fear," she elaborated.

Decline in Attendance

This issue has caused a decline in student attendance and learning. The majority of principals (57.8%) reported that a significant number of immigrant families left their communities during the school year.

Michael Becker, a principal at a school in Nebraska, shared that he had students who "simply stopped coming," and the school was unable to find out what had happened to them.

"There were rumors that they had left the country or moved to another area where they felt safer," lamented the principal.

A total of 63.8% of principals reported that "students from immigrant families missed classes due to policies or political discourse related to immigrants."

This decline occurred as schools are working to recover attendance rates affected by the pandemic.

The study also found that more than one-third of public secondary schools experienced incidents of bullying directed at students from immigrant families.

Fear and Concern

Over 35% of the principals surveyed acknowledged that students from immigrant families have reported being victims of bullying or harassment in their school.

A principal in Minnesota recounted that they recorded an increase in comments from white students, specifically white male students, towards Hispanic students: "'Can I see your papers?' Someone said that," they detailed.

Christina Horvath, a principal at a school in Michigan, said she has heard comments like, "You are an illegal immigrant, your parents are illegal immigrants, go back where you came from," even among friends.

Horvath has taken disciplinary action against this bullying but remains concerned about the long-term impact on students and the school community as a whole.

John Rogers, a professor of education at the University of California, Los Angeles, and co-author of the report, stated in a press release that in nearly every state there are secondary schools where students experience fear and concern regarding their immigration status.