Melanie Claros, a civics teacher and ESL coordinator at a South Florida school where half of the kids are Latino, had to perform an additional task the morning after Election Day last year.
She recently told NBC News that by the end of the day, over two dozen kids had individually come to her to inquire about immigration enforcement reforms in anticipation of another Donald Trump administration.
Will they deport us all at this point? Who will be the first to be deported? She remembered being questioned by students in class.
Since then, Claros said, the worries have not decreased, adding that she is aware of at least one student who has already ceased attending classes due to immigration-related issues. “I have a strong suspicion that we will have more children who will become withdrawn or simply stop attending school,” she said.
Claros is among a number of educators from six states who told NBC News that they have been forced to deal with the awkward situation of answering inquiries regarding possible mass deportations under the Trump administration. Many educators are aware of a number of situations that could soon begin to occur: immigration officers inquiring about a student; a child who leaves school for the day only to learn that their parents have been arrested and that no one is available to care for them; or students who are afraid of being deported and simply stop attending classes. Though they are very aware of the potential for blowback when discussing a political issue like this in public, educators and advocates say they feel they must be ready for these circumstances.
Teachers like Claros are shocked by this conundrum.
“I never in a million years thought that they [students] would ask me and have fears about immigration,” she said, adding that she became a teacher knowing she would have to discuss civics.
In order to reduce the amount of crimes committed by migrants and discourage people from crossing the border illegally in record numbers, proponents of Trump’s proposals for mass deportations argue that immigration enforcement must be strengthened. Critics, however, express alarm about the potential for family splits and the generalized anxiety in some communities.
A number of educators told NBC that they believe it is better for a community for children to have the chance to attend school, regardless of their legal status. The communications office for the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, school district, which has a sizable English-learner population, is run by Jasmin Baxter. The district is dedicated to ensuring that every student feels supported, she added.
When you go to school, you should feel secure there. According to Baxter, such external influences are not something you should be considering while pursuing an education.
However, it doesn’t mean it has been simple for school districts to respond to inquiries from families about immigration or discuss their preparations for potential mass deportations.
According to a California assistant principal who requested that their name not be published in order to speak freely about the matter, “it is definitely tricky for us to talk about it.” Because families and community members would object even if it was something like, “Here’s how we support our students.”
According to Viridiana Carrizales, co-founder of the NGO ImmSchools, schools are also reluctant to be seen asking for immigration information and knowing what to do if they run across federal investigators.
“A lot of them are saying that we become targets the moment we put our names out there,” she remarked.
In spite of this, she added, ImmSchools got communications in the days after the election from 37 schools it had never collaborated with before inquiring for information and training opportunities for their employees. Additionally, the group conducted a virtual training session with 29 superintendents just before Christmas to teach them how to be ready for any deportations or immigration sweeps that may impact their student populations.
According to her, “Schools are really scared and are trying to figure out how to best support families through this.”
As Claros has already witnessed in her school, teachers anticipate that kids will start to completely vanish from their classes. Parents may fear being separated from their children in the event that one of them is arrested, or they may believe that if their child attends school, authorities may discover that they are in the country illegally.
Karen Iglesias, an ESL teacher in Michigan, reported that she has had parents tell her that they are afraid to drive to their children’s school and that she has heard students inquire about the possibility of deportation.
North Texas elementary school teacher Cinthya Longoria says she is doing her best to help parents who are worried about the future because she is still unsure about her own. Longoria is presently covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which gives certain immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as minors a temporary legal shield against deportation. According to her, a parent recently asked her for confirmation that their family would be safe under the new government.
Longoria remarked, “I just told her I hope so.” as I was unable to say “yes” to her. I informed her that I was a DACA recipient at that point. That was the only thing I could tell her without being dishonest at that moment.
Federal laws control the sharing of pupils’ personal information and forbid schools from refusing them free public education on the basis of their immigrant status. According to experts, the regulations are intended to protect undocumented families who are worried about enrolling their children in schools, in addition to the Fourth Amendment’s prohibitions against unjustified search and seizure.
According to Nayna Gupta, policy director for the nonprofit American Immigration Council, when combined, these provide a reasonably strong defence against immigration enforcement measures against children in schools, particularly in cases when the school system is dedicated to safeguarding its noncitizen pupils.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement generally avoids locations where people get public services, such as schools, hospitals, and churches, in accordance with existing policy. However, three people familiar with the intention to terminate the program previously told NBC News that it is scheduled to disappear under the Trump administration.
Both the Canutillo Independent School District in Texas and Denver Public Schools in Colorado released statements regarding the potential policy change, highlighting the importance of disruption-free learning.
Schools have previously been at the focus of immigration-related disputes. Approximately 700 employees from seven food processing facilities in Mississippi were arrested during a series of ICE raids in 2019, during the first Trump administration. District authorities consequently informed NBC NewsSchools and neighborhood organizations at the time had to locate secure places for kids to go when their parents weren’t around. According to one Mississippi school district, bus drivers were told to make sure a parent or guardian was there when a child was dropped off; if not, they were to bring the youngster back to school to spend the night there.
The manner that some advocacy organizations and educators are currently preparing families has been influenced by this past.
A group of nonprofit organizations in Tucson, Arizona, is assisting families in creating emergency packets that include important details in the event that a parent is arrested or deported. These include a guardianship power of attorney, emergency contacts, and guidance on how to discuss with children who will be in charge of them while their parents are away.
According to the California assistant principal, she and a few of her coworkers have even offered up their houses, she told NBC News.
“We have had conversations with families who have come forward with their status and have made it clear that if their family is deported, they have the option to have their child stay with one of us,” she said.