Deportation: How to Talk with Your Kids and Staff Education and Training

Source: www.pexels.com

By Sam Piha

Many afterschool programs serve immigrant families. Many of these families have fears about the latest deportation campaign and how best to handle themselves, should ICE show up. These fears are shared by children and may be expressed at home or in the afterschool program. This raises the question of how best to talk with kids about their fears. It may be best to communicate with adult family members on how this is being dealt with within the family and share the advice of this blog.

According to Google AI, “When talking to children about the possibility of deportation, be honest and age-appropriate, reassure them of your love and support, and focus on their family's plan to stay safe and together. Here's a more detailed guide:

1. Explain in Simple Terms:

• Use clear language: Avoid legal jargon or complex terms. Explain what "deportation" means in a way they can understand, such as "being sent back to another country". 
• Focus on the facts: Don't exaggerate or scare them with unnecessary details. Stick to the information you know and can control. 
• Answer their questions honestly: If they ask about specific scenarios, answer them directly and truthfully, but avoid overwhelming them with details. 

 2. Reassure and Comfort:

• Emphasize your love and support: Let them know that you love them very much and that you will do everything you can to keep them safe and together.
• Focus on your plan: Explain that you have a plan in place and are taking steps to ensure your family's safety and well-being.
• Validate their feelings: Acknowledge that they might be feeling scared, worried, or sad, and let them know it's okay to have those feelings. 

3. Focus on the Positive:

• Emphasize your strengths: Talk about your family's strengths and resilience. Remind them that you are a team and that you will get through this together.
• Highlight positive aspects of your community: Talk about the resources and support systems available to you and your family, such as community organizations, friends, and family members.
• Focus on the future: Talk about your hopes and dreams for the future and how you will work together to achieve them.” [i]

Source: www.pexels.com

Staff Education and Training

Because the advice for immigrant families can be very complicated, we recommend that afterschool staff invite a local immigrant advocacy organization to train staff and parents. We also recommend that program leaders confer with school leaders, as the district may have immigration policies and content experts that can also train staff and parents.  

For a full briefing paper on countering the threat of deportation, click here.

END NOTES:
[i] Google AI, How to Talk With Kids About Deportation

How California Schools Can Support Students, Families Fearing ICE Raids

Source: Ian Kapsalis/The Express

Guest Blog by Laura E. Enriquez, Ed Source. This story was originally published by EdSource. Sign up for their daily newsletter.

Back-to-school season should be a time of hope and excitement. This year in Southern California, however, it was shadowed by fear as immigration threats spilled into schools.

All summer, federal immigration agents besieged the streets of Southern California. In response, schools in impacted areas set up safety zones, coordinated school personnel and volunteers to monitor nearby areas for ICE activity. Still, violent raids and violated rights are ratcheting up fear across entire communities. Just this week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that one’s race and related factors can be used to detain individuals, paving the way for immigration enforcement officers to make more frequent stops. 

As I got my kids ready for school — picking out new shoes and stuffing supplies into backpacks — I was struck by the privilege that these are our biggest worries. For many other Latino families in Southern California, the first day back was overshadowed by anxiety: Will Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) be waiting outside? Will a parent not come home tonight?  

As a professor who studies the impacts of exclusionary immigration policy on undocumented and mixed-status families, I anticipate the long-term effects of this moment. Detention and deportation of a family member destabilizes households and harms children’s mental health and academic success. Even for those who manage to avoid the deportation of loved ones, these raids will be core memories that shape how a whole generation understands legal vulnerability.

In my past research, I often listened to undocumented and U.S. citizen young adults recall a key moment: being in the car when a parent was pulled over, hearing late-night knocks on the door, or encountering police checkpoints. Those memories have shaped lifelong understandings of when and how deportation may threaten their families. 

Because the students I studied grew up in California, these incidents were once occasional and isolated. Now, the threat is coordinated and constant. Students tell me their parents say it’s never been like this before. From now on, when their mom doesn’t answer the phone, the worst-case scenarios that flash through their heads will be the ones they see in the news: brutal detentions, disappearances into ICE custody, and possibly deadly outcomes. 

Such fears compromise students’ educational engagement and mental health, weakening their academic performance. In our research on undocumented students and U.S. citizens with undocumented parents at the University of California, my colleagues and I found that immigration-related threats created clear disparities between these students and their peers with lawfully present parents. These fears fueled high rates of anxiety, depression and academic disengagement. The overall pattern is clear: Immigration policies harm whole families and communities, not just undocumented immigrants. 

California legislators have passed two bills that seek to restrict immigration enforcement on school campuses and inform students and families of the presence of immigration officers on campuses. Signing these bills into law and implementing them will provide a critical sense of safety that can enhance student well-being. 

Source: Mindsite News/ Linda Perales

Administrators and educators — from elementary school through college — can further step in to help families navigate threats. Existing school mass notification systems can be used to inform families when ICE is active nearby. Just as schools prepare for earthquakes, they can support families in creating emergency reunification plans so that younger children are cared for and older students know what to do. 

Teachers and staff at all levels must be prepared to talk with students in culturally competent and compassionate ways. This means staying current on immigration-related issues, sharing resources, and making clear that anti-immigrant language will not be tolerated. For high school and college students, recognizing immigration stress as a valid reason to request extensions can prevent them from falling further behind. 

These measures may seem small in the face of the severe threat and fear that students are facing. However, they can offer a beacon of hope, letting families know they are not alone and bolstering their ability to cope with and navigate these threats.

The families in recent news stories could have easily been mine. My oldest child was born into a mixed-status family. Her father, my husband, was undocumented until he gained permanent residency when she was 2 months old. That change was the result of complex immigration policies that worked in our favor. Ten years later, my daughter’s biggest concern is which backpack fits with her style — not whether her dad will be there to meet her at the bus stop. 

Outdated federal immigration policies block many undocumented and mixed-status families from achieving the security my family enjoys. To protect the next generation, we need immigration policies that do not disappear undocumented immigrants and traumatize U.S. citizens. State, local and institutional policies can help combat ongoing threats, but ultimately, we need federal action to create a humane and accessible pathway to legal status.

The next generation shouldn’t grow up fearing a knock on the door. It’s time for policies that keep families together and children safe. 

MORE ABOUT...

Laura E. Enriquez

Laura E. Enriquez is an associate professor of Chicano/Latino studies at the University of California, Irvine. She is the author of the forthcoming book “Family Legal Vulnerability: How Immigration Policy Shapes the Lives of Latino College Students.” 

EdSource is California’s largest journalism organization focused on education. EdSource believes that an informed, involved public is necessary to strengthen California’s education institutions, improve student success and build a better workforce.

ICE Raids Are Affecting Children—And What Youth Programs Can Do?

Source: Ian Kapsalis/The Express

We queried Google AI to learn more about how youth programs can protect youth while the threat of ICE raids is possible. Below are the responses:

How Youth Programs Can Protect Students

• Enact "Safe Haven" Policies: Establish clear protocols that prohibit staff from sharing student information or allowing ICE agents into non-public areas without a judicial warrant.
• Implement Trauma-Informed Care: Train all staff to recognize trauma responses and prioritize emotional safety. Shift from punitive discipline to supportive interventions that address the root causes of behavioral changes.
• Support Family Preparedness: Help families create emergency plans, such as Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavits, which designate temporary guardians if parents are detained.
• Provide Mental Health Resources: Partner with community organizations to offer culturally responsive counseling and support groups that help youth process community-wide trauma.
• Facilitate Safe Travel: Organize community carpools or "walking buses" to ensure students can travel to and from programs without fear of encountering enforcement. 

Below is a checklist for staff training on how to respond if immigration officials arrive at your facility, provided by Google AI. Please note that your school, district or program provider agency may already have a protocol should ICE agents conduct a raid. It is important that you consult for prior checklists and ensure that you disregard any of the checklists below if you think this list is contrary to existing policy or if you think any of these actions would be unsafe for your staff.

Training staff for potential visits from immigration officials (such as ICE) focuses on maintaining calm, verifying legal authority, and following a pre-set communication chain. 

1. Preparation (Before a Visit)

• Designate a Point Person: Assign a primary and alternate representative (e.g., HR Director or Manager) as the only staff authorized to interact with officials.
• Create a "Cheat Sheet": Provide reception and front-line staff with a step-by-step response guide, including emergency contact numbers for legal counsel. 
• Distribute "Know Your Rights" Notices: As of February 1, 2026, certain jurisdictions (like California under SB 294) require employers to provide written notices to all employees regarding their rights during immigration inspections.
• Emergency Contacts: By March 30, 2026, ensure employees have the opportunity to designate an emergency contact specifically for workplace arrests or detentions. 

2. Front-Line Staff Protocol (Upon Arrival) 

• Stay Calm: Instruct staff to remain professional and avoid sudden movements or running, which officials may interpret as "articulable suspicion".
• Verify Identity: Politely ask for the official’s business card and government-issued photo ID.
• Identify Public vs. Private Areas: Train staff that officials may enter public areas (lobbies) but need a judicial warrant (signed by a judge, not just an agency official) to enter private workspaces.
• Direct to Management: Staff should state: "I do not have authority to grant access. Please wait while I contact my employer".  

3. Management & Legal Protocol

• Review the Warrant: Check that any presented warrant is signed by a judge/magistrate and correctly identifies your facility's address.
• Do Not Consent: If no judicial warrant is present, managers should politely but clearly state that they do not consent to a search of non-public areas.
• Avoid Obstruction: Staff must not hide employees, destroy documents, or provide false information, as these actions can lead to criminal charges.
• Document the Visit: Assign a staff member to record agent badge numbers, names, and all actions taken. If permitted by local law, video or photo documentation is recommended. 

4. Post-Visit Actions

• Request Receipts: Obtain an itemized receipt for any property or records removed from the facility.
• Notify Contacts: If an employee is detained, immediately notify their designated emergency contact and legal counsel.
• Debrief: Record a factual account of the encounter while details are fresh to assist legal counsel. (If it is safe, we recommend that somebody video the encounter.)   

Source: www.pexels.com

Because the threat of deportation has existed for a few years, we have written other resources to assist afterschool programs with this. Below is a listing of some of the resources we have developed:

Learning in Afterschool & Summer Blogs:

• ICE Raids at Schools
• Deportation: Things Immigrant Families Can Do Now to Protect Loved Ones
• Collateral Damage: New Immigration Policies and Education in California
• Practitioners Speak Out: Serving the Needs of Immigrant Youth
• Supporting Immigrant Families
• How California Schools Can Support Students, Families Fearing ICE Raids
• Immigration and Afterschool

Briefing Papers:

• Countering the Threat of Deportation

Deportation: Guardianship for Minor Children, Power of Attorney and What Schools Can Do to Help

Source: Shawn Thew / EPA/ LA Times

By Sam Piha

Regardless of immigration status, parents should understand the importance of guardianship for minor children and a power of attorney document. 

Guardianship 

“What is Guardianship? Guardianship of minor children allows one person to make decisions on the children’s behalf. Under guardianship, control is relinquished from a biological or adoptive parent to another person on a temporary or permanent basis.  Usually, a minor’s guardian is appointed upon incapacity, disability, or death of the legal parent.

There are three different types of guardianship: informal guardianship, temporary legal guardianship, and permanent legal guardianship. Depending on the type of guardianship, powers consist of one or more of the following:

1. Assuring the maintenance and care of another person
2. Making financial, medical, and educational decisions
3. Reporting to the court about the guardianship status on an annual basis.” [i] 

“You should think about who will care for your children if you are detained or deported. This is an essential part of safety planning. However, not everyone will need a court-appointed legal guardian. You should be aware that a guardianship will give the guardian the right to make decisions concerning your children, including whether to allow your children to see you. It may be difficult to terminate a guardianship if you change your mind. You should consult with an attorney before seeking a guardianship. 

Power Of Attorney (POA)

A Power of Attorney document is a written document that grants a designated person (your “Agent”) authority to act on behalf of the person giving the POA in some matters. The authority of the Agent may be broad or limited and may allow decisions regarding finances, medical treatment, and/or property. A POA is not a standardized, “one size fits all” form. POAs are not guardianships and an Agent who has authority under a POA is usually not authorized to care for or make decisions on behalf of one’s children.

Not everyone needs a POA. Each person should consider whether a POA is right for them based on their individual circumstances. A POA may be useful because it can be used to allow a trusted friend or family member to access your bank account. If you do not have a bank account in the United States or other substantial financial assets, there may not be a compelling reason to complete a POA. Many banks allow customers to manage their accounts from outside the United States, so if someone is deported, they will generally be able to access their resources from abroad.” [ii]

Source: Wellpoint Care Network

What Schools and Educators Can Do to Eradicate Fear 

According to Kayla Lee, “Although the ICE has a 'Sensitive Locations' policy stating that it generally will not conduct enforcement actions at or near schools, the series of raids—especially those that picked up children en route to school—are causing families to doubt their safety within their own communities. 

The Los Angeles Unified School District, or LAUSD, voted to prohibit ICE officers from entering school campuses until they have contacted school officials for approval. Additionally, Steve Zimmer, LAUSD school board president, presented a resolution to the school board forbidding the presence of ICE officers on campus until the LAUSD superintendent and lawyer’s office make the decision to allow it. The resolution also gives the superintendent 90 days to come up with a plan to provide assistance, information, and safe havens for students and families faced with fear and anxiety over immigration enforcement efforts. School officials’ actions are important to the protection of unauthorized students and families. According to LA School Report, an unauthorized mother who spoke to LAUSD said that she felt ‘relieved knowing that they can now go to school for help.’ 

Schools in Prince George’s County, Maryland, have implemented policies to make clear the conditions under which law enforcement officers can interview or detain children on school grounds. The CEO of Prince George’s County Public Schools wrote an open letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in which he expressed his concern for immigrant students who are experiencing fear and anxiety over the recent deportations. 

Beyond policies that bar ICE officials from campuses, educators can also allay the fears of students and their families by establishing best practices to provide support and guidance.” [iii]

“The protection of the right to K-12 education for all children established in Plyler v. Doe helps educators create safe environments for immigrant students where they can achieve their full potential. High-quality education is a critical, long- term investment for all children in the United States, and it cannot exist when school attendance is limited by fear.” [iv]

Kayla Lee concludes, “All students are more likely to succeed when their communities come together to protect them. Schools and communities—especially those with high unauthorized immigrant populations —across the United States should follow the examples of Durham, LAUSD, and Prince George’s County and create safe spaces for their students.” [v]

For a full briefing paper on countering the threat of deportation, click here.

END NOTES:
[i] A People’s Choice, Types of Guardianship for Minor in California
[ii] National Immigrant Justice Center, Guardianship & Power of Attorney
[iii] Kayla Lee, How Educators and Communities Can Reduce the Fear of Deportation Among Unauthorized Students and Families
[iv] IBID.
[v] IBID.

Deportation: Things Immigrant Families Can Do Now to Protect Loved Ones

Top Left: American Immigration Council, Top Right: The Hill,
Bottom Left: VCG/Qian Weizhong, Bottom Right: KERA News.

By Sam Piha

Create A Safety Plan 

Many immigrant family advocates suggest that immigrant families, regardless of status, should create a safety plan in case family members are taken into custody by ICE. The safety plan can be shared with parents. The National Immigrant Justice Center provides steps for creating this plan below.

• “Identify your emergency contacts and list and memorize their phone numbers. 
• Provide your child’s school or day care with an emergency contact to pick up your child.  
• Provide authorization in writing for your emergency contact to make medical and legal decisions for your child. 
• Tell your loved ones that if you are detained by ICE, they can try to use ICE’s online detainee locator to find you: https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search.” [i]

“Right now, we haven’t made a plan because you don’t want to accept it, but I don’t know,” she said. ‘It would probably be good to make a plan, but sometimes you just don’t want to accept it yourself. She asked me, ‘What if they take you while I’m in class? Who will pick me up? Where will I go?’” [ii]

Mobilization for Justice advises, “The simplest way to plan for your child’s care is by filling out a Parental Designation form. Contact MFY Legal Services for a sample parental designation form. This form gives another person temporary authority to help your child get medical care, enroll in school, and get public assistance. 



• You choose the person. It can be any person you trust to care for your child. You and the person both have to sign the form. 
• You are not required to go to Family Court. You do not give up any rights over your child by filling out a Parental Designation form, and you can revoke it at any time. 
• The form is valid for six months if it is notarized. It is only valid for one month if it is not notarized. You can re-sign the form as many times as needed. 
• If your child has special medical needs, or if the other person will be caring for your child indefinitely, the person designated may need to go to Family Court to get a legal order for Custody or Guardianship. Additional information on Custody and Guardianship may be found on the “Caregivers/Relatives” side of this guide. Please contact Mobilization for Justice for more information about this.

Update emergency contact information at your child’s school. Add contact information for adults who can pick up your child if you become unavailable. Also update the emergency contact information with your child’s doctor, school bus, and after school programs. 

Make copies of your child’s important documents. Leave copies with an adult who will be able to care for your child if you are deported or unavailable to care for them.” [1]

Also, Mobilization for Justice advises immigrant families to:

• “Seek A Legal Consultation: With private attorneys: Call the American Immigration Lawyers Association at 1-800-954-0254 for a referral. With nonprofit organizations that employ U.S. licensed attorneys or Department of Justice accredited representatives: A list of these organizations can be found at Immigration Advocates Network.
• Collect Your Documents in A Safe Place: Keep your identity information and financial information in a safe location. Gather documents showing the length of time you have been in the United States; the most recent two years are most important. This can include U.S. income tax returns, utility bills, leases, school records, medical records, bank records, or other documents. Make sure your emergency contact can access all of these documents. Read and practice NIJC’s guidance on what to do if you encounter ICE in your community.
• Avoid Immigration Fraud: Only seek legal advice from an attorney or an accredited representative at a Department of Justice-recognized nonprofit organization. Lawyers must have a license from a U.S. state to practice law. Ask to see their law license. Law licenses from other countries do not authorize the practice of law in the United States.  Accredited representatives must be accredited and work for a nonprofit agency recognized by the Department of Justice. Ask to see their accreditation documents. Never sign an application with false information and never sign a blank form. Ask for copies of everything you sign. 

If the advice sounds too good to be true, get a second opinion before filing an immigration application. Read NIJC’s full guidance on how to avoid immigration fraud. 

• Be Alert for Digital Scams: Be skeptical of social media posts promising new or quick immigration relief. The U.S. government (including Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and State Department) will never contact you via WhatsApp or social media. With limited exceptions, such as people who are released from detention and told they must check in with ICE via telephone, the U.S. government generally does not contact individuals by phone. 

If you receive an unexpected message or phone call from someone who claims they are an immigration officer or other government official, do not respond or share personal information. Do not wire or transfer money to pay a “processing fee” or for any other reason.  If in doubt, consult an attorney or accredited representative before taking any action. Avoid sharing unverified information on social media.

• Know And Defend Your Rights: No matter the immigration status, everyone has rights under the United States Constitution. Know your rights and what to do if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) comes to your child’ school.” [2] To learn more about your rights, click here.

Source: www.pexels.com

According to the National Immigrant Justice Center, “All persons in the United States have constitutional protections, including the right to remain silent when questioned or arrested by immigration officers. Being stopped by immigration officers or other law enforcement can be frightening, but it’s important to stay calm. During any encounter with law enforcement, it’s important to do the following:

• Stay calm and don’t run, argue, resist, or fight the officer, even if you believe your rights are being violated or you are being treated unfairly. Keep your hands where police can see them, and tell them if you need to reach into a glove compartment or for a wallet to show your papers.
• Don’t lie about your status or provide false documents.
• If you are pulled over in a traffic stop: Ask if the officer is from the police department or immigration. Immigration officers often identify themselves as “police,” but they are not police. Ask if they are from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP). If they are immigration officers, follow these guidelines about what information to provide.   
• If you are a U.S. citizen or have lawful immigration status: Show your passport, legal permanent resident card, work permit, or other documentation of your status. If you are over the age of 18, you should carry your papers with you at all times.
• If you are undocumented: You have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration or citizenship status with the police, immigration agents, or other officials. Anything you tell an officer can later be used against you in immigration court.
• If an officer knocks on your door: Do not open the door. Teach your children not to open the door. Officers must have a warrant signed by a judge to enter your home. ICE “warrants” are not signed by judges; they are ICE forms signed by ICE officers and they do not grant authority to enter a home without consent of the occupant(s).
• If you are outdoors and think you see immigration officers nearby:
• Move to a safe indoor space
• If you are a U.S. citizen and feel safe to do so, record the activity with your phone or write down any relevant information about what you witness—ALWAYS being careful to not interfere or otherwise obstruct the operation

DO NOT:

• Post unverified information on social media
• Interfere with the investigation or otherwise put yourself in harm’s way.” [3]

For a full briefing paper on countering the threat of deportation, click here.

END NOTES:

[1] Mobilization for Justice, Family Plan for Parents Preparing for Potential Deportation
[2] Mobilization for Justice, Know Your Rights: What to Do If Ice Comes To Your School
[3] National Immigrant Justice Center, What “mass deportations” might look like 

Ask Congress to protect 21st CCLC and other youth funding!

"The President proposed a budget that appears to eliminate 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program. 21st CCLC is the only federal funding stream dedicated to afterschool and summer programs, supporting thousands of local programs across the nation. The proposed Executive Budget also levies enormous cuts on the Department of Education and other agencies that support afterschool and summer programs and the youth and families they serve." - New York State Network for Youth Success  Read Afterschool Alliance's blog here.

How to Help Kids Cope with ICE Deportation Raids During The Summer

Source: EdSource, Ian Kapsalis/ The Express

Summer can be a difficult time for kids as schools close down. But, have we thought that how this is especially true for those with undocumented family members?  This blog contains excerpts from How to help kids cope with ongoing ICE raids, deportations | Quick Guide written by Vani Sanganeria for EdSource. To view this original publication, click here.

“Fears remain unabated for both children of immigrants and their friends, as federal immigration agents in California continue to detain, arrest and deport residents, in what community members say has become an indefinite fixture of the Trump administration.” 

Vani Sanganeria explains:



• With school out for the summer, some students may no longer have access to crucial support and services available during the academic school year, as fear and anxiety rise in their communities from ongoing immigration raids.
• The absence of school-based services often leads to worsening mental health for students during the summer.
• During the summer, unstructured routine, social isolation and increased social media use can exacerbate feelings of sadness and fear. Also, children are much more likely to internalize traumatic events like raids on social media or outside of school, often in isolation and lacking the safe environment of a classroom to talk through their feelings about the day’s news.  
• Data indicate a spike in both substance use and feelings of sadness among adolescents during the summer, which worsens in part due to unstructured routine, increased isolation and increased social media use.

“Children are already seeing masked individuals with weapons coming into the communities, tackling people and taking them away and putting them into vehicles. We have to acknowledge that some very scary things are happening in all of our communities — by lying about the magnitude of this, we may be risking our trust with our children in the future.” – Ahmanise Sanati, school social worker in Los Angeles 

Source: www.pexels.com

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PARENTS
According to Marta Melendez, a social worker with LAUSD, families can prepare for scenarios like an ICE raid, detention or deportation by preemptively building their and their child’s mental health tool kit, similar to an emergency plan. 

“Families can take steps to support their child’s mental health and prepare for what experts are calling a child welfare and human rights crisis.”

• Research shows that even basic mindfulness interventions can mitigate the short- and long-term negative effects of stress and trauma, and these techniques, when taught bilingually, are especially effective for populations such as the Latino community. 
• Prioritize something that is a positive outlet for the child, whether they like to play sports, to write about their feelings, draw about their feelings, sing about their feelings, if they want to dance about their feelings — make sure that they have a way of processing all the emotions that they are experiencing.
• Talk through your child’s feelings.

“One way to validate a child who is afraid is by letting them know that their family will be ready for a worst-case scenario.” - Marta Melendez, a social worker with LAUSD.

• To create a sense of normalcy for children, Melendez said families should do their best to maintain healthy routines and hobbies during the summer, especially those that promote social connection with their peers.
• Prepare for emergencies. 
• Create a childcare plan.
• Find remote mental health support for your child. 
• Practice healthy coping skills as a family.

Previous LIAS Blogs on this topic can be viewed here. 

MORE ABOUT...

EdSource is California’s largest journalism organization focused on education. Access to a quality education is an important right of all children. EdSource believes that an informed, involved public is necessary to strengthen California’s education institutions, improve student success and build a better workforce.

 UPCOMING WEBINARS: 

How ICE Raids Are Affecting Children—And What Schools Can Do

Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old Ecuadorian boy,
was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents
in Minneapolis while returning from school with his father.
Source: © Ali Daniels/AP

ICE raids are being conducted across the country. Even if raids are not being conducted in your city, because all of the news coming out of Minneapolis, it is difficult for young people to not witness these events. As of early 2025, federal guidelines regarding "sensitive locations" (like schools) have been revoked, making it even more crucial for districts to have, and strictly enforce, local protective policies. 

The impact on young people is profound. In this blog we draw on an article published by The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. This article is entitled, How ICE Raids Are Affecting Children—And What Schools Can Do and is authored by Nirvi Shah. You can read this entire article here. Below we offer several excerpts. Future blogs will expand on how afterschool programs are responding and how programs can prepare.  

“Immigration enforcement actions, including raids and the threat of deportation, severely impact children by inducing chronic stress, fear, and trauma, which leads to increased school absences and emotional distress.” – Google AI

Nirvi Shah writes, “What is immigration enforcement doing to kids and families? And what can youth programs do to protect their students’ mental health and physical safety? 

Immigration enforcement actions have intensified in 2025 and 2026, significantly increasing the daily number of children in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. These operations, which now include raids at schools and daycares, are driving a mental health crisis characterized by "toxic stress" and pervasive fear among immigrant families. 

At the end of winter break at the Garlough Environmental Magnet School in West St. Paul, Minnesota, more than 50 students did not return to class. 

At the time, federal immigration agents were conducting military-style operations throughout the area, detaining both students and parents as they went to or from school, including a 5-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl in another town. In January, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents killed two protesters and injured many others in Minnesota. 

Principal Libby Huettl, Garlough
Environmental Magnet School.
© ISD 197

Principal Libby Huettl knew she had to do something. She worked with her school’s cultural liaison to gather volunteers to pick students up at their apartments and walk them to school bus stops. Other staff members stationed themselves at the stops. Some volunteers drove students directly to school. The goal was to make students—and their parents—feel it was safe enough to make the trek, however long or short.

 By the end of January, she says their efforts were paying off: The number of kids not showing up to her elementary school was down to seven.

 “We are spending a lot of our energy on getting students back to school, however that needs to look,” Huettl says.

Principals around the country report similar patterns in students missing school, but the fear that is keeping students home is especially acute in the Minneapolis area—though protesters and local officials have successfully pressed the federal government to scale back their presence. As of this writing, the federal government announced that 700 agents, out of about 3,000, will leave the area. But, given the Trump administration’s priorities, the overall campaign is unlikely to end anytime soon.

“'This is a devastating time in the education space,' says Alejandra Vázquez Baur, the co-founder of the Newcomers Network, a coalition of educators, researchers, and advocates in 46 states. 'Immigration is becoming one of the leading issues impacting schools.'”

Experts and educators alike say that immigration raids are inflicting a terrible toll on children’s mental health and education. Some school systems have created new rules for addressing ICE visits to their campuses. Others are sharing information with families about their rights, and some parents signed power of attorney agreements that would give another adult the ability to take custody, even briefly, of their children should they be detained. Meanwhile, principals like Huettl are setting up plans in real time for dealing with immigration enforcement in their communities.

Here’s an overview of what ICE raids are doing to kids and how schools are responding to protect their students’ mental health and physical safety.

Immigrants in schools
The nonprofit KFF (formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation) estimates that 1 in 4, or 19 million, children in the U.S. have an immigrant parent. While immigrant students and families are clearly the most affected by federal actions, schools may not know the backgrounds of some of their students—and cannot turn away students based on their status. Some schools use English-language abilities as a proxy, however, for counting how many immigrant students they enroll.

But Vázquez Baur notes the effects of immigration enforcement are hardly limited to these children. “It is not just immigrant students who are staying home from schools,” says Vázquez Baur, who comes from an immigrant family. She ticks off examples: A whole group of students could find themselves stranded because their school bus driver was detained. One student’s babysitter, who helped with dropoff and pickup, is no longer around. Another may find that their best friend suddenly isn’t coming to school anymore. “Your child is going to leave with the idea that school isn’t for some kids,” she says. “This will touch every child in some way—and that was before the violent escalation.” 

Educational outcomes
The ways families are trying to cope create their own side effects, with high school principals telling researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles that when families shelter at home to avoid encountering ICE, their children don’t eat very well. Other kids have become caretakers for younger siblings overnight after a parent was detained.

And these students may not be able to do their schoolwork. Although schools in Minneapolis and the surrounding areas gave students the option of accessing classes online, the pandemic proved this was not a successful version of schooling for many kids. It can result in a slew of side effects, and the same problems during that era of virtual learning may exist now: limited or no access to high-speed internet and a lack of enough, or the right kind of, devices for kids to use for their lessons.

A spike in absences—what Huettl was working through—is one problem that can follow immigration agents’ presence and may involve students of any background. The Charlotte-Mecklenberg school district in North Carolina said more than 27,000 students were absent the first school day after U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived in the city in November. That amounted to nearly triple the number of students absent compared with a week before and was about a fifth of all kids in the 141,000-student district.

At school, the federal immigration onslaught has meant more bullying, high school principals told the UCLA researchers.

“’The biggest impact I can speak to is other students making inappropriate comments,’ another principal told researchers at the UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access, even telling friends: “‘You’re a border hopper, your parents are border hoppers, go back where you came from.’” - High School Principal

 

Mental health impact
Other research, including some that measured the effects of immigration enforcement during the first Trump administration, affirms what many educators already know: A ramp up in activity by federal immigration agents has a corrosive effect on children.

In a research brief last year from the Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University, experts cited a study that found “children from immigrant backgrounds who witnessed their parent/s being arrested due to deportation tended to experience changes in sleeping, eating, and higher levels of fear and anxiety compared to children who had not witnessed this event.” 

They noted that some amount of stress is required for the healthy development of children, but extended periods of stress or extreme stress can lead to lasting physical and psychological damage. That’s because that kind of exposure can disrupt the way the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain and the adrenal glands, which sit atop the kidneys, interact. Together, these organs help the body respond to stress. Too much stress, especially in children, the ASU experts wrote, can lead to long-term issues that impair memory, language development, and learning abilities and increase the risk of heart diseases in young adults.

The researchers compared what happened to Latino and non-Latino white students in places affected by the Secure Communities policy. Latino students, relative to white peers, reported persistent sadness or hopelessness; suicidal ideation; planning or attempted suicide; alcohol and cigarette use; fighting; and poor grades. 

The findings, the researchers said, show that the more students were exposed to the intensified enforcement, the sadder or more hopeless they felt.

What’s happening in children’s minds
When children, and adults, see something that could be a threat, and an unexpected one, “it’s going to activate a whole set of evolutionary responses,” says Dr. Kerry Ressler, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders at McLean Hospital and director of its Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory.

“It’s everything we think of as a panic attack,” he says: increased breathing, an upset stomach, a dry mouth, wanting to run away. And people don’t have to experience that threat directly to trigger this physical reaction, Ressler says. “A lot of studies have shown that secondary viewing of somebody else being threatened still activates a lot of your own systems.”

Images of the clashes between Minnesota residents and ICE agents have been difficult to avoid on television and social media for weeks. Beyond that, residents of all ages have witnessed agents driving through neighborhoods, waiting outside churches and near school bus stops, and taking into custody a 5-year-old child wearing a Spider-Man backpack and bunny hat. 

“The onslaught of ICE activity in our community is inducing trauma and is taking a toll on our children, taking a toll on our families, our staff, our community members. This surge has changed nearly everything about our daily lives. The kids just want to come to school. They want to be in person learning. They thrive. They’re happy in school.” - Zena Stenvik, superintendent of the Columbia Heights Public School District, said during a press conference in January. 

According to researcher Dr. Kerry Ressler, “For children from lower-resourced environments, where food, money, or family support are scarce, or those who have experienced other trauma, witnessing or learning about immigration enforcement activity may trigger their own memories of being abused or tracked or not being safe or not being cared for.” Ultimately, that will cause further trauma, regardless of how that looks from child to child.

Below is a list from Google AI on the impacts of increased ICE raids on kids and families:

• Trauma and Mental Health: Raids cause severe, long-term anxiety, depression, and PTSD, with children often fearing they will be separated from their parents.
• Educational Disruption: Fear of raids leads to high absenteeism and, in some cases, students dropping out or transferring schools.
• Family Separation: The fear of, or actual, detention of caregivers destabilizes families, leaving children without adequate care. Aggressive enforcement has led to more frequent separations of children from their primary caregivers, causing severe psychological distress and disrupting essential attachment bonds.
• Surveillance Risks: Increased use of technology and data, such as license plate readers and social security records, deepens fear and distrust in public institutions. 
• Increased Detention: The average number of children in ICE custody daily has jumped more than sixfold since early 2025, with some days exceeding 400 children.
• Safety Concerns in Schools: The rescinding of sensitive locations policies has led to enforcement actions near schools, causing chronic absenteeism, drops in enrollment, and a general climate of hypervigilance.
• Mental Health Crisis: Experts report higher rates of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among affected youth. Some children even exhibit regression in eating and sleeping habits. 

MORE ABOUT...

Nirvi Shah

Nirvi Shah is a longtime education journalist and most recently served as executive editor of The Hechinger Report. Her work has been published in The Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, The Nation, POLITICO, Slate and USA TODAY, among other outlets, and recognized by the Education Writers Association, the Society for Professional Journalists and other organizations. Reach her at nirvi.h.shah@gmail.com.

Since 2001, the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC), based at the University of California, Berkeley, is one of the world’s leading institutions of research and higher education. The GGSC is unique in its commitment to both science and practice: Not only do they sponsor groundbreaking scientific research into social and emotional well-being, they help people apply this research to their personal and professional lives. GGSC studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society. You can sign up for their newsletter here.

The Year of Living Dangerously

By Sam Piha and Stacey Daraio 

The last year has been one of incredible violence and hate speech. Much of this has been graphically reported in the media and has greatly effected young people. There have been a series of mass killings in Charlotte, Orlando, San Bernardino, Paris and elsewhere. There have been a number of shootings by the police of unarmed civilians captured on video. 


This year’s presidential campaign has been filled with hate speech directed at people of color, people of faith, and on. Not to mention threats of deportation of Latino families. Over the last year, we have seen a rise in hate crimes as well as a dramatic spike after the election. One young person asked on the news if “hate is now state-sponsored?” After students chanted, "build a wall" at a school sporting event, Archer City (Texas) school Superintendent C.D. Knobloch apologized, stating heated emotions after the election probably were a factor. 

Photo Credit: Commondreams.org

This is especially difficult for adult youth workers who young people turn to to understand what is happening and how they should respond. A number of students in Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Neb., Portland, Ore., Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif., and other cities have walked out of school to protest possible federal policies that promote fear and hate. 

Photo Credit: Omaha.com

First, we want to acknowledge the difficulties and concerns that youth workers have in light of the above. Secondly, we want to offer a few tips for leaders and staff of youth programs. 

1) READ WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID: Much has been written by educational and afterschool leaders about all of this. We recommend that youth workers read what others have written. Here is a link to a statement by the National AfterSchool Association (NAA): It's Not About Politics. It's About Community. We also recommend articles from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. 

2) ADULT SELF-CARE: These events have been very stressful for adult youth workers who often support low-income and youth of color. For many, the quest for social justice is what motivated their engagement. Before talking with young people, it is important that the leaders of youth programs provide a safe place for workers to discuss their own feelings. Secondly, it is important that there is an organizational discussion of what adults should say and how they should address the need for young people to express their thoughts, concerns, and fears, and what they can do if they experience hate speech or actions. Finally, adult youth workers may need access to resources that speak to how to have difficult conversations with groups of youth. For a listing of some resources, see a previous post here.

3) TALKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE: It is especially useful for programs to have an ongoing place and process where youth can express their thoughts or concerns. This negates the need to convene conversation groups only when there is an event. It is important that adult staff have some training in facilitating conversation groups. It is also important that:

• Youth are assured that they will be physically and emotionally safe within their program, and that they are valued and loved;   
• Youth feel safe sharing their thoughts, including those with differing views;
• Youth understand who they can go to if they experience hate speech or actions; 
• Youth have opportunities to positively respond to their fears or concerns. This may involve activities that improve the climate of their school and/or community.  

4) A PLAN FOR SUPPORTING UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH: Undocumented youth and their families are experiencing their vulnerability in new ways. Educate yourself first on actions you can take before broaching the subject with youth. Websites like: National Immigration Justice Center and My (Un) Documented Life are great resources.

5) COMMIT TO STOPPING INJUSTICE WHERE YOU SEE IT: We must all, especially white allies, recommit ourselves to stepping in, speaking up, educating our youth and other adults about the injury injustice causes. 

6) BE KIND AND CONNECT: Know that everyone is experiencing the news in their own way. Reach out to youth and other adults. Make time to check in and ask how people are really doing. Respect what they say and just LISTEN. 

These negative events described above are not going away. Thus, it is important that afterschool and community-based youth programs have strategies that are thought through and long-term. This is critically important if youth programs are experienced as safe places.