Students at Dobie Middle School pass through the hallway in between classes on Monday, April 14, 2025. The school has received three consecutive F ratings, according to state academic standards, and is likely to receive a fourth this year. A fifth would allow the state to take over the district, so to prevent that from occurring, the district will likely close the school this year.
Los Angeles, California – As President Trump ramps up immigration enforcement across the country, educators and researchers are warning that the crackdown is deepening a less visible crisis in American schools: student absenteeism.
A new Stanford University study has found that a rise in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids is directly linked to increased school absences among undocumented and mixed-status families. Analyzing five California districts, researchers recorded a 22 percent increase in student absences during January and February compared to the same months in prior years. The spike, they say, correlates with stepped-up immigration operations under both the current and former administrations.
The effect is most noticeable among the youngest students. According to the study, Latino pre-K attendance dropped 30 percent, elementary grades fell by 27 percent, and even middle and high schools saw more minor but significant dips. The researchers note this pattern even before the massive immigration raids and subsequent protests that swept through Los Angeles this month, events that led President Trump to deploy military personnel despite pushback from California officials.
“The fear isn’t necessarily that ICE agents will walk into a school,” said Tara Thomas of the School Superintendents Association. “It’s the chaos that follows in the community. That fear trickles down, and suddenly, kids just stop showing up.”
The Trump administration has removed legal guidance that previously limited ICE activity near schools, but federal officials still require judicial warrants to enter school campuses. No confirmed school raids have taken place. Still, uncertainty and misinformation have taken a toll on school attendance and enrollment, especially in areas with a high concentration of immigrants.
In many communities, the daily school commute has become a source of fear. Parents without legal status are increasingly reluctant to leave home, worried they might be detained en route. “We’re seeing families pull their children from summer school or skip the fall semester entirely,” said Viridiana Carrizales, CEO of ImmSchools. “Transportation is becoming a liability, not a lifeline.”
Since the pandemic, chronic absenteeism has become a stubborn challenge for districts nationwide. The nonprofit FutureEd reports that nearly a quarter of students were chronically absent during the 2023–24 school year, with even higher rates in low-income and minority communities. Prolonged absences often lead to lower academic performance, decreased graduation rates, and long-term economic hardship.
Yet as Carrizales and others point out, many school districts have remained cautious—sometimes silent—in the face of fear rippling through immigrant communities. “Families need to hear from their schools that their kids are safe,” said EdTrust policy analyst Carl Felton. “And they need to believe it.”
